A Christmas Story
by AniMeViEtGrl
Summary: The roles...Clara, Winry Rockbell...Nutcracker, Ed Elric...HANDSOME evil king mouse, Roy Mustang...Sugar Plum Fairy, Riza Hawkeye?...is this gonna turn out well? Edwin Royai. HIATUS!
1. Roy's plan

Disclaimer: I could only dream...

Welcome! I have revised the chapters so please enjoy!

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 1**

_**Roy's Plan** _

"NO. WAY. IN. HELL." Edward Elric's deathly voice growled in the office of Colonel Roy Mustang...

"Come on Fullmetal...is a little favor too much to ask for?" A Smug grin was plastered on the Flame Alchemist's face….ohh how much Edward wanted to feel his metal fist crashing into his superiors jaw right now.

**You all might be wondering, what the heck? But I, the authoress shall fill you in...you see...it all started when...**

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"Men!" Roy Mustang announced as he slammed his palms on the smooth wooden desk before him. Riza Hawkeye ignored the sudden outburst and continued to look over the colonel's signed paperwork.

Jean Havoc, Kain Fuery, Heymans Breda, and Vato Falman looked at their superior for a split second and...

"By the way...did you catch that show last night?" Havoc interrupted, turning to Fuery.

"Which show? you mean the one---"

"SHUT-UP!" Roy narked as he banged his fists on the desk once again, causing everyone's attention, including Hawkeye, to look his way.

"AS I WAS SAYING..." Roy managed to say through gritted teeth.

"King Bradley has requested us to do something humble for the civilians of Central and since it's almost Christmas and all...we have been asked to think of something to do for the occasion..." he finished. The men seemed to ponder the thought.

"Well...why not go caroling?" Falman, who was merely running errands, suggested.

"Out of the question…we did that last year..." Roy shook his head reluctantly. He sat down on the comfy desk chair and leaned back, propping his hands behind his head.

Breda sighed.

"Do we have to? I mean it's such a pain..." he complained as he took one of Havoc's cigarettes and lit one, taking a breath of it in.

"Yeah...remember last year? When we went from neighborhood to neighborhood? Havoc got hit by 18 snowballs AND we were chased by a mob of angry people" Fuery commented chuckling as he explained the story to Falman.

"Well…that was because his singing was like that of a sick dying animal..." Roy rolled his eyes as he thoughtfully turned from side to side in his chair...

"Hey...I don't sound THAT bad do I?" Havoc countered, taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Yes you do, I recall an incident with Fuery's glasses cracking because of your dreadful voice" Breda commented blankly. Havoc in turn glared at the stout man.

"...Shut up…" he spoke grimly, ending the conversation there and putting the cigarette back in his mouth.

As the minutes passed by in thoughtful silence and the four men still couldn't think of what to do (Falman had left after Fuery's story), Hawkeye stood up from her desk and cleared her throat calmly.

"If I may suggest sir…" She said in that calm way of hers.

Roy arched an eyebrow and ushered her to continue...

"Why not hold a play? That way it would be enjoyable and we wouldn't let people hear Havoc's singing..." she suggested finally. Breda and Fuery snickered as Havoc glared at the two. Roy tapped his chin in a thoughtful gesture.

"A play hm? Interesting...good work Lieutenant!" the colonel replied and Riza sat back down resuming her work. Roy, with this new plan in mind began to ponder more about her suggestion...

"A play? That would be something to look forward to..." Maes Hughes stood by the door frame of the office, leaning against it with a grin plastered on his face. All five heads instinctively glanced up at him on impulse.

"You know...I was reading my darling Elysia a Christmas story the other night, it was called 'The nutcracker'. We could do that..." the doting father thought out loud scratching the back of his head.

"What are you doing here Hughes?" The Flame Alchemist ignored the suggestion for the time being and looked at him suspiciously.

"What? Can't a guy just come and visit his friend?" Maes frowned.

"Go back to your quarters Hughes..." Roy commanded as he reluctantly went back to filling in some papers needed to be signed.

"Oh but I can't! You know the other day, Elysia..."

And in a flash the man was in front of Roy's face holding his beloved pictures before his friend.

The alchemist tried his best to ignore the daughter obsessed lunatic in front of him as he looked over his paperwork.

...It was no good...

"ARGH! GET OUT!" Roy hollered as he snapped his fingers and a line of fire flew towards Lt. Colonel who had already started running out the door for his dear life. He jumped and ducked for cover as the fire went over his head and hit the now charred wall out in the hallway. Hughes looked at his uniform and frowned when he spotted a burnt mark on end of his uniform jacket.

"Awww Roy, you know this isn't gonna come off!" he whined sadly, trying to wipe away the black spot. Before Roy could give him another toasting, Maes had already started running down the hallway while shouting...

"HEY! YOU SHOULD GET ED TO PLAY THE NUTCRACKER! IT'D BE FUN!"

And with that said, the doting father's footseteps soon disappeared.

Roy sighed as he sat back down in his chair.

"Fullmetal...?" The suggestion played over in his head and he rubbed his chin in deep thought.

At that moment a lightbulb clicked inside Roy Mustang's head...

"Fullmetal huh?..." he smirked to himself and pulled out a notepad, planning for the events to come...

**And so folks, here we are...Roy had called the Fullmetal Alchemist into his office for a mysterious assignment...**

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"Edward, you may come in, the Colonel is ready for you..." Hawkeye reported as Ed Elric waited outside the office calmly.

"What does that stupid Colonel want now?" Ed muttered as he rubbed the back of his head and walked inside the rather small office. The atmosphere suddenly felt chilling when he saw the grin plastered on Roy's face...

"Fullmetal..." Roy greeted, still with that idiotic looking grin spread across his face. Ed resisted the urge to rip it off...

"Whaddaya want?" he mumbled leisurely as he yawned, making himself comfortable with the couch. He scratched his head and looked at the colonel boredly.

Roy pointedly ignored his underlings rude behavior and cleared his throat.

"You may remember that every year we military personnel are asked to hold an event for Christmas..." The womanizer annouced as he leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out behind his head. Edward nodded slowly, not sure where this was going.

"Uh, you mean like last year when Fuery's glasses were broken cuz of Havoc's caroling?" Ed remembered randomly.

"Uh...sure...I guess you can put it that way..." Roy coughed.

"Anywho...this year...we will be doing..." Roy paused for dramatic effect and threw Fullmetal a look of seriousness.

"A play!"

Ed blinked quizzically.

"A play...?" he repeated bemused and looked at the Colonel skeptical.

"Yes...a play...not just any play...'The nutcracker'..." Roy informed and sat back down at his desk. Riza just watched quietly in amusement.

"Haha you said 'nutcracker'..." Ed pointed out childishly.

"Shut-up you idiot!" Roy whapped Ed on the side of the head earning an ouch from Ed and a death glare.

"Okay, okay...so what does this have to do with me?" The Elric's expression turned blank once again.

"Bwahahaha I will tell you!" Roy smirked as he pointed rudely at Ed.

"oook...?" The boy replied uneasily.

"YOU..." more pointing from Roy for emphasis.

"…will play as the nutcracker!" He smiled evilly.

Ed's expression stayed calm and remained that way until...

"NO. WAY. IN. HELL." Ed's deathly low voice growled.

"Come on Fullmetal...is a little favor too much to ask for?" A Smug grin was plastered on The Flame Alchemist's face.

"Like I would do any favors for you?" Ed remarked.

"You're going to have to..." Roy shot back.

"And if I don't?" Ed questioned.

"Well, you can't back out because Fuhrer King Bradley is looking forward to your performance" The Colonel bragged.

"Like hell will that stop me!" Ed boomed.

"Oh yes it will! He has the power to fire you, which I can't sadly...and if you get fired that ends the search for the philosophers stone..." Roy replied casually with that annoyingly smug grin on his face again.

Riza could've sworn she heard Ed mumble some inappropriate things but just cast the thought behind.

Ed didn't utter another word and continued to glare at the bastard colonel. He didn't want to admit defeat but the colonel was right...

"Anyways...we will decide for the roles of the play tomorrow so make sure you come back for the briefing..."

"No can do Colonel..." Ed smirked with relief after realization dawned his mind.

Roy stared at Edward and arched an eyebrow.

"Remember? I'm going to go get my automail fixed and maybe I'll be staying in Resembool for awhile so I can't be in some stupid play..." he retorted and stood up from his seat, stretching his arms out.

For once he was glad he was returning to Resembool.

Roy tapped his chin and thought over the newly acquired piece of information.

And then another light bulb binged in his head.

"Stay here..." he ordered sternly and marched out of the office.

"What the hell...?" Ed questioned surprisingly and stared at the closed door which Roy had left from.

**_A few minutes later..._**

The Colonel finally returned with that smug grin on his face once again and plopped down in his chair.

And that's when it hit him...

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHERE'S THAT MUNCHKIN?" He stood up and had his eyes search every square inch of the room. Riza sighed in response, setting down her finished paperwork to the side.

"Lieutenant...where is my slave?" Roy turned to ask her seriously.

Riza could've rolled her eyes at this statement but refrained from doing so.

"Well sir...you didn't give me orders to stop him if he were to leave..." She replied back truthfully.

The two looked at each other for a minute...

"Hmm...good point..." Roy agreed and went back to his paperwork...

"Oh well...he's going to have to learn about it tomorrow then..." he smiled mischieviously and started to sign his name on the papers.

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_**The next morning...**_

Edward sighed in content as he snuggled against the couch, scratching his tummy as he resumed his nap. Alphonse having noticed his brothers posture tutted in disapproval and continued to prepare the bags for their return trip to Resembool just a few hours away.

"Hmm we haven't been there since about half a year ago..." Al mused aloud and continued to pack Ed's things. After All, Al didn't wear any clothes.

Alphonse zipped up the bag when he finished and set the luggage against the wall. His armor shoes clanked quietly around the room as he reorganized the small room. When the younger Elric passed the couch he glanced at Ed.

Alphonse sighed.

"Brother sleeps too much..." he shook his head and made his way to his room. As the kitty loving boy made his way down the hallway, a light knock came from the door causing the young Elric to pause in his tracks.

"Huh? Who would come at this time of night...?" the boy questioned in confusion as he walked to the door and unlocked it.

"Hiya Al!" his childhood friends face popped up and she greeted him happily.

"Wuh-Winry! What are you doing here?!" The armored alchemist gaped at the blonde before him. Weren't _they_ the ones who were supposed to go back to Resembool instead of _her_ coming to _them_?

"Colonel Mustang asked me to come over! He said I could be the star in a play!" Winry explained casually as her eyes sparkled with delight. Alphonse tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Where's Ed?" Winry wondered aloud when she didn't see the familiar antenna behind Al. She walked into the living room and placed her bags down while taking her shoes off.

"Uhh...he's sleeping..." Al said, still a little confused and pointed to the back of the couch a few feet away.

Winry smirked and silently crept behind the said couch.

"Ahhh I swear he spends most of his time sleeping..." Winry commented dryly as she pulled the covers across her friends expose stomach. Alphonse agreed silently behind her.

Winry was about to let the teenager be when his eyes instantly flew open at the slight touch of her fingers.

The blonde female flushed slightly having been caught trying to tuck him in.

"Uh, Hiya Edward" She managed to greet evenly and retracted her hands until they were at her sides.

"WINRY!" he mouthed in disbelief and in his stunned state had fallen on the floor.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Um…a Colonel Mustang called me over yesterday afternoon asking if I wanted to be in a play!" Winry smiled as she flopped down on the couch.

"WHAT! No...please tell me you didn't accept his offer..." he pleaded silently.

Alphonse, who was quietly standing behind the two was STILL confused but continued to watch them nonetheless.

"Of course I accepted!" she replied sweetly with a cute grin plastered on her face. Edward grimaced and slapped his forehead in displeasure before fully losing his mind.

" NOOOOO!" he screamed to his own surprise and ran to his closet to throw his shirt over his head and pull up his pants. The state alchemist grabbed his red jacket swiftly and ran out the door in full speed.

"B-Brother?!" Al followed suit behind as Winry went after the two as well.

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"YOU BASTARD! WHAT ARE YOU SCHEMING THIS TIME!" Ed slammed open Roy's door looking baffled and disheveled. His golden hair was not in its usual braided style and instead was cascading around his face in a messy fashion. Riza mentally rolled her eyes and the other men held in the urge to laugh.

"Here..." Roy stuffed a paper in front of Ed's face before the alchemist could complain furthur. Winry and Al had finally caught up and were now both looking at the paper as well...

The Nutcracker play (casting)

Clara - Winry Rockbell

The Nutcracker - Edward Elric

Godfather Drosselmeier - Hughes

Fritz - Alphonse Elric

Below Fritz was where 'evil mouse king' was written and looked as if someone, namely the Colonel, had crossed out the 'Evil' and had replaced it with a 'handsome'.

HANDSOME mouse king - Roy Mustang

Sugar plum fairy - Riza Hawkeye

Fairy dancers - Havoc, Falman, Fuery, Brosh, Sheska and Armstrong

Mouse king's lackeys - Basque Grand, Kimbley, Ross and Breda

-This story will be editted by Maes Hughes-

Ed frowned as he finished reading aloud the paper.

Riza turned her head towards the group and stared with a surprised and fearful face.

"Colonel! If I may say, why am I in this play?" she commented and tried to fight back her anger as she looked at her name beside 'Sugar plum fairy'.

"Lieutenant, you can not object. Everyone is supposed to participate..."

"But...but...THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY?! Can't you get Sheska to do that part? Or Maria?" she suggested angrily for the first time to Ed and Al's eyes.

"No can do Lieutenant..." Roy shrugged and wagged his pointer finger at her as he leaned back against his chair.

Riza was about to yell again but she remained in control of her emotions.

"He probably just wants to see her in a dress...or maybe he'll make her wear a mini skirt..." Ed whispered to Al and Winry, rolling his eyes and earning a glare from Roy.

"Have you even told anybody about this yet sir? How do you know they are going to agree?" Al asked as he held the paper in his hands.

"Oh don't worry about that..." Roy answered cheekily.

"It's going to be hard to convince Grand and Kimbley..." Edward spole up as he glared at the acursed cast list.

The Fullmetal alchemist sighed when his eyes shifted over to his name next to "The Nutcracker".

"I'm not going to do it...why would I want to be in a play with this girl right here?" He claimed uninterested as he pointed to Winry behind him with his thumb. WInry glared at him.

"What did you say _**MIDGET**_?!" she muttered darkly as she fingered the trusty wrench in her coat pocket.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A SUPER MIDGET! Machine freak!" Ed countered and threw her a look in response.

"oh shut-up!" Winry sighed exasperated, clasping her hands over her ears to ignore Edwards ranting.

"Eh, just report here tomorrow morning..." Roy told Alphonse and stood up shooing the three away and proceeded to slam the door shut. But before he did he replied.

"If you don't show up Edward, you know what will happen..." He eyed Ed murderously and slammed the door shut in his face.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO THREATEN ME?!" The mini alchemist shouted back at the now closed door and would have blasted it open if it weren't for Winry and Alphonse dragging him away.

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muahahahaha this'll be so fun to continue! reviews please?


	2. Rehearsal day

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist...

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 2**

_**Rehearsal day**_

While the preparations for the play were handled by Maes Hughes and his wife Gracia (...who would let Hughes do it himself?) everyone was busy with running errands. Roy had just come back from telling Grand and Kimbley about the event and with just that one visit he was already tired. First off, the two didn't agree to be in the play, which made things a whole lot difficult. Secondly, there were frequent complaints he was receiving from Havoc and all of the others about their roles. As Roy briskly strolled along the hallways of the central military building, he briefly remembered the past hours events.

_Havoc, Falman, Breda, Fuery, Sheska, Brosh, Ross, and Armstrong stared at the sheet of paper the Colonel had given them._

_TWITCH_

"_What?! You CAN'T be serious sir!" Fuery protested as he looked at the Colonel as if he'd gone mad. After all, his name WAS under the 'Fairy dancers' list._

"_It's too late to complain! You all already signed the contract..." Roy chided as he held up indeed a contract with all their names on it and slapped the papers on the big oak desk._

"_BUT ALL YOU SAID WAS 'SIGN' AND SO WE DID!" Havoc glowered as he glared angrily at Roy._

"_Well, won't this be a lesson to **read the fine print** before you sign it?" Flamie said plainly._

Most occupants in the room threw the colonel a look.

'_I'll kill him!' _

"_Buwahahaha! Y-You guys are under the fairy dancers?" Breda pointed out as he and Ross laughed in unison. The rest glared at Roy and at the two who weren't some prancing thing with wings that go la di da di da!_

"_But sir, why am I a fairy dancer?" Armstrong, who had been quietly spectating the group asked in confusion._

"_Because...It'd be funny to see you in drag..." Roy WOULD HAVE said but resisted the urge to. The disbelief on his comrades faces were so fun to watch he knew he should've hidden a camcorder somewhere..._

_Roy cleared his throat and looked at the major seriously, placing his hand on the mans broad shoulder._

"_Because only you, with the famous Armstrong bloodline, can do this job! The fuhrer and I are counting on you!" he commented and patted the muscle-obsessed man on the shoulder. A spark of determination appeared on the mans face and he immediately saluted._

"_I shall do my best then!" The strong arm alchemist vowed._

'_He actually fell for it...' The other's thought in skepticism._

"_Riza? You're going to be the sugar plum fairy?" Ross looked at said woman who had been trying to forget about the whole ordeal. After all, she had spent at least 3 hours last night, until 1 A.M repeating, "Why did I suggest we do a play? WHY?"._

_Riza looked up at Ross trying to keep her eyelids open. She stared blankly at Maria with a half disgusted face._

"_Unfortunately yes..." She whispered and when the others didn't hear she instead gave a calm nod. The blonde avoided eye-contact with Maria and the others and soon resumed her post. As the nod came from Riza, all eyes stared at her._

"_Whoa! Are you serious sir?" Havoc asked, pointing towards Riza and forgetting his current ordeal. _

"_Yes, indeed I am..."Roy answered proudly and grinned as he stared at Riza. The first lieutenant suddenly felt unwanted chills run up and down her spine. _

_'Damn these horny bastards...'_

"_Ano...Colonel Mustang sir, do we have to stick with these parts?" Sheska questioned hesitantly as she poked her two pointer fingers together nervously. Roy turned around and eyed her._

"_Yes, you can not back out of this" he said looking very grim._

"_Y-Yes sir!" She saluted out of fright for the man._

"_Now I must be going, I have to inform Brigadier General Grand and Major Kimbley about this" Roy stood up smugly and swiftly as he left the group without answering the questions they were throwing at him._

_As Roy roamed the halls looking for the two men, he tried to think of a plan to persuade the two but exasperatingly concluded that they wouldn't give in easily. Roy liked to classify them as the type of people who were 'anti-fun' and were all about "Work! Work! Work!" and "Boring! Boring! Boring!". _

_'How can you NOT have fun?'_

_Roy didn't want to ponder on that case any longer so he went to ask a few people to see if they had seen the two men. As he got the information of their whereabouts, he strutted down the road across from the military quarters. He opened the front door of the nearby bar and a light ring added to the numerous chatter from inside. _

_He looked around the dim room and indeed the two men he had been searching for were both having a drink at the counter._

"_Hey! Grand! Kimbley!" The womanizer called out to them through the loud noise. They impulsively turned their heads towards the caller and Roy could've sworn he saw a scowl on both of their faces afterwards._

"_What do you want Mustang?" Grand merely asked as he drank his beer._

"_Have you heard about the play that the Fuhrer has asked us to set up?" the man questioned and sat down next to the two, ordering himself a beer._

"_What of it?" The moustached man replied obviously uninterested._

"_Well..." Roy paused, looking for the right words..._

"_To put it simply...You two are going to be in it" he finally concluded._

_Ok, so he didn't FEEL like looking for the right words..._

_A pause of silence filled the bar once bustling bar. Even the bartender stopped what he was doing. A grin appeared on Kimbley's face until he started to snicker loudly._

"_Ahahaha! You're kidding right? Ahahahah..." The Crimson alchemist banged his fist on the table as he laughed hysterically._

"_ahahahaha...NO I'm not..." Roy laughed along and then changed his expression into a blank stare. He took his beer the bartender gave him and chugged half of it away._

"-_ahaha...NO" Kimbley paused and ALMOST glared at Roy, it wasn't a glare...more like a blank 'no freaking way' stare._

"_And that concludes this discussion Mustang..." Grand, who obviously didn't have a sense of humor declared and turned around to chug the rest of his drink down._

_Roy frowned and then wagged his finger at the two disapprovingly._

"_I can't take that as an answer..." he finally spoke up and shook his head to emphasize his displeasure. _

"_We will not be in some stupid, idiotic childs play..." Grand glared. His look was also telling Roy 'Don't mess with me, or else'._

"_What am I supposed to tell King Bradley?" Roy was obviously persisting._

"_Tell him we do not accept..." Kimbley said calmly as he asked for another beer._

"_I don't think Fuhrer King Bradley would make US be in some idiotic thing like this, we have work to do, he'll understand..." Grand dismissed the conversation... Roy cursed under his breathe and slapped some money on the counter, walking calmly out of the bar, not bothering to finish his beer._

_Roy walked the sidewalks quietly heading back to headquarters..._

"_hm...maybe I'll put plan 'b' into action then..." He mumbled and entered the building walking towards his office._

And that's what happened...Roy wasn't just going to give up! Hell no! He's going to fight damnit! FIGHT!!–ahem- ok... anyways...

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(Time Gap)

As with Ed...

"I AM NOT DOING SOME STUPID PLAY!" The shrimp alchemist kicked around the many books piled up in his dorm room.

"Oh come on Ed! It'll be fun!" Winry smiled.

"Oh shut-up!" Ed rolled his eyes frustrated.

"What did you say to me?" Winry's eyes narrowed at him as her fingers brushed cool metal in her pocket, voice dripping with anger.

"I-I mean..! We should head down there now! Because that damned Colonel said to report back for the briefing remember? Well, let's hurry!" Ed rushed out the door before Winry could hit him on the head.

"Edward! Come back here!" Winry ran out the door after him with Alphonse locking the door and being the responsible one.

"Hey Edward!" Fuery called out to Ed as they finally reached the military quarters.

Ed came to a halt and turned towards the voice.

"Master Sgt Fuery??" Ed turned around noticing the small man running up to him.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your date" Fuery eyed Winry as she stopped behind Ed as well, Alphonse still a few paces behind them.

"What?!" Winry and Ed both shouted, frozen stiff.

"He's not my boyfriend! I mean come on! Would I honestly date someone as short as him?" The blonde female pointed at Ed replying a bit too defensively.

"That was quite uncalled for Win...and besides, I'm taller then you now..." retorted Edwasd, bubbling with fury.

"Well you're still short in MY eyes! Nyah!" Winry stood her ground and stuck out her tongue, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A-ano...I didn't mean to..." Fuery tried to calm down the two hot-headed teens.

"Good afternoon Master Sergeant Fuery sir" Al caught up with the three. Fuery was too scared to take his eyes off the two and instead just said "Oh, good afternoon Alphonse"

"Well...what was it that you called me over for?" Ed averted Winry's gaze...he'd let her win for now...

"Oh, I just wanted to ask if you were going to the Colonel's office, I'm heading over there myself" Fuery smiled politely.

"Oh...sure" Ed shrugged and began to make his way to that crappy son of a gun Colonel's place. The four walked in silence, well, Winry and Ed were walking in silence as Al and Fuery were engrossed in a conversation about the upcoming play.

"Oh yeah! Sgt. Fuery sir! I heard you were going to be in the play as well! A...fairy dancer was it?" Al thought aloud.

"Hahah...well, I didn't want to be a 'fairy dancer...' heck! Most of us don't want the parts assigned...I don't really know 'the nutcracker' story well...but just hearing my part gives me the creeps!" Fuery scratched his head.

Alphonse laughed. He remembered his mother had read him and Ed 'The nutcracker' once...it was a memory from long ago but he still remembered it faintly. He and Ed would always fight to see who would be the mouse king and who would be the brave nutcracker. Of course Al would always win at rock, paper, scissors and Ed would get mad and then not be in the mood to play this 'stupid game'. That's when Al would sigh and tell Ed that he would be the mouse king, which then Ed would come to terms with and decide to play.

How typical.

"-sigh- brother hasn't changed one bit!" Al murmured at the unpleasant memory of Ed always getting to play the good guy characters.

"Did you say something Alphonse?" Fuery quirked his head.

"Um, no! it's nothing!" Al waved his huge metal hands in front of himself.

As the four reached the large building they headed towards Roy's office.

"Tch, I still don't know why I have to be in this STUPID play!" Ed held his arms behind his head. "I don't want to be some wooden plastic doll thing!" Ed sighed infuriated.

"wooden plastic doll thing?" Alphonse repeated trying to make sense of it...

They waited outside of the office as Fuery went to tell Roy of their visit.

"And what is this? Why do we have to wait to be called in? Is he doing something in there we shouldn't be seeing or what?" Ed argued still more frustrated then ever.

"I only do that because I want to be warned if a puny midget comes by for a visit"

As if on cue Roy Mustang opened the door and grinned at Ed.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A---OUCH!" Ed was cut off by a whack of Winry's trusty sidekick. She quickly placed her wrench back in her pocket and smiled politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir, Ed's uhhh, told me much about you..." She bowed and added the last part hesitantly.

"Really now? It's nice to finally meet you Ms. Rockbell. What a cute girl the Fullmetal's mechanic is..." Roy smiled and shook her hand.

"Thank you! So when do we start rehearsals?" she asked excitedly.

Roy chuckled. "I have already gathered everyone in the auditorium" Roy exclaimed and asked the others to follow.

"The military has an auditorium?" Ed asked Fuery.

"Yeah, you'll never know when you'll need one..." Fuery commented...

"Ok..." Ed replied a little confused...

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"Here we are..." Roy opened the two large doors to reveal a huge stage in front with rows and rows of seats left to right.

"Wow!" The blonde haired girl exclaimed, getting more and more excited by the minute.

"Hey Roy! Did you get Ed yet?" Hughes looked up to the Colonel and spotted a few visitors.

"I'm here Lt. Colonel Hughes!" Ed shouted back, because the place was pretty huge. The lights were focused on the stage and he saw that almost everyone was present.

"Oh! Sorry Ed! I didn't notice you!" Hughes said, not meaning to imply on a 'certain' topic.

"You're digging your own grave Hughes..." Ed mumbled shakily.

"Ok my lackeys! It's time to rehearse! Take your places!" Roy shouted as he walked down the steps leading to the stage.

'We'll disregard that...' Everyone glared at Roy.

"Here is your script Winry-san! Alphonse and Edward's too!" Sheska greeted Winry. And Winry thanked her.

"Hey...Where are Kimbley and Grand?" Ed asked Sheska. And as if on cue Roy frowned.

"Well...unfortunately, they couldn't make it...but they WILL be here on the day we have the play, as 'guest' stars..." Roy answered with a smirk...

Ed didn't like this attitude Roy was using. His aura was emitting a strange scary-ish color. He overlooked the thought and looked over his script, flipping through the story leisurely. Ed already knew about the story though. He had role-played it out with Al when they were young.

"I'm not going to have to kiss anybody will I?" Ed looked up at Hughes who passed by him.

Hughes paused as if suddenly struck by lightening and then grinned.

"Of course not!" The man answered, patting Ed on the back reassuringly.

Ed nodded in relief and went over to Al and Winry, who were practicing as we speak. Uh...Read.

"Fritz! Isn't this wonderful? Grandfather has given me this beautiful nutcracker as a gift for Christmas!" Winry pretended to hold out a small figurine up in the air with glee in her eyes.

"U-Uhmm...I-it's not beautiful! It's hideous!..." Al paused.

"What's wrong Al?" Winry looked at her childhood friend...

"well...it's umm..." Al fiddled with his fingers...

"I..." Al was cut short by Ed.

"He's too nice! You should know that Win, Al couldn't possibly play a mean character!" Ed threw his script aside in disgust and sat on the edge of the stage.

Winry knew Al was blushing behind that metal face of his. She read along the script and frowned.

"This isn't good! Let's ask Mr. Hughes if we can change it a little!" Winry set down the script and called over to Hughes, the two discussed the change as Ed and Al looked around the place.

"You know Al...we could switch--"

"nope!" Al smiled as he cut off Edward.

"But Al! I could play him! I can be mean! Especially to that machine freak!" Ed whispered the last part for fear that if he were to be whacked again he would probably fall into a coma...

Wait a minute...

A coma would be better then taking part in this stupid play! As Ed prepared to say it again but louder Al stopped him before he could.

"That's ok brother, remember how you always wanted to be the hero? Well now you will! Except Winry's in it and she's your lover!" Al snickered. Ed's cheeks gre hot.

"Mgh! Whatever! Like I would want to be that tomboys l-lo..yeah...!" Edward scowled as he folded his arms across his chest, refusing to finish his sentence.

"Haha, I was just kidding Nii-san!" Al kidded.

"Ed! Al! Come over here! We decided on what to do!" Winry called the boys over.

"Coming!" Al stood up with Ed following shortly behind. Haha, literally...

"Ok, so here's what you'll do..." Winry handed Al the now edited script, Hughes would inform the attendees about the change later.

Winry read from the top.

"Fritz! Isn't this wonderful? Grandfather has given me this beautiful nutcracker as a gift for Christmas!" Winry repeated once again.

"How cool nee-san! May I see it?" Al read his lines.

"Sure thing!" Winry read and handed Al the figurine.

Suddenly, Black Hayate came up and snatched the figure in his mouth. Everyone watched the dog tear it with its jaws and shake it fiercely.

"T-That wasn't in the script!" Winry reread the lines, she shooed Black Hayate away and picked up the now even messier doll. Gracia and Elysia walked over to the group

"Wait! This might just work..." Gracia took the scripts again and was moving her pencil across the papers, everyone looked questioningly at her. Gracia gave a smile to signal the teens to wait for her and they nodded. She asked Winry if it was okay to look after her daughter and Winry gladly accepted. As Winry played with Elysia, Ed and Al helped out with setting the stage for the play.

About an hour and a half later, Gracia had summoned everyone to gather around.

Winry stopped playing with Elysia and they both headed towards the stage with Ed and Al trailing behind. Elysia ran to her mommy and hugged her telling her about what she played with Winry causing the blonde to give a smile.

"Minna-san! Mommy and Daddy have edited all your scripts!" Elysia announced as she passed out the renewed scripts while trying to hold up all the papers. Everybody gave her a pat on the head thanking her.

"Aw! Isn't Elysia the cutest today?" Hughes went into his 'obsessive-daddy' mode.

The crew rolled their eyes. He'll never change...

"I would like to add that these characters will suit you quite nicely..." Hughes grinned as he picked up Elysia lovingly.

"Hey...they changed the names too?" Winry flipped through the script seeing her own name instead of 'Clara'. Ed's face grew sour, He didn't like this one bit. He had this bad feeling...

"Where are the rest of the scripts?" Havoc asked seeing as how they only handed out the script for scene one only.

"You will not need to practice the whole thing today. We will just be practicing act one" Gracia smiled. Roy called everyone to take their places, he shooed everyone off the stage except for the characters needed for scene one.

"And action!" Roy called from the audience seats. He always wanted to say that...

"What?" Winry yelped. She saw Ed sitting on the chairs grinning at his brother and Winry...

"Oh right...Ed's part wasn't until scene two..." Winry thought to herself. Lucky... she frowned.

The lights dimmed on Winry, Alphonse and Maes. Alphonse looked up at the booth seeing Riza controlling the lights. Dancing music played and the dancers...

were not here yet so they had to imagine they were...

_The Rockbells were throwing an extravagant party in celebration of Chrstmas and Al, Winry and Elysia were all playing together._

Winry read the line out and started to play with Elysia as did Al.

Elysia was playing the role as Winry and Al's little cousin.

"This party is so boring..." Winry read from her script as she sighed. The three kids were sitting on the edge of the stage away from the 'dancers'.

"You got that right..." Al sighed as well, reading his lines.

"I'm bored!" Elysia whined. Everyone heard Maes crying "ELYSIA-CHAN KAWAII!"

Maes walked on to the stage and held toys in his hand.

"Uncle Hughes!" Winry sat up quickly, running towards him as the story told her to do.

"Daddy!" Elysia ran to her father, not even knowing that she followed the script unintentionally. Al stood up and walked over to his 'uncle' as well.

"What toys have you brought for us this time?" Winry asked with glee in her eyes.

'Wow...Winry's getting into this...' Ed thought as he watched with slight amusement.

"Come sit down and I will show you" Hughes ushered them over to the 'couch' which was actually piles of crates with a cloth draped over it.

"But first..." Hughes reached for his pocket.

"Isn't this picture of Elysia cute? This was taken when---" Hughes went on and on.

Everyone paled...

"psst...Mr Hughes...your line!" Winry nudged him.

"hmm? Oh! Uh right..." Hughes let out a cough and looked at the piece of paper.

"For you Alphonse, I brought you a toy soldier" Hughes recited as he took out a...

...teddy bear?

"Pretend it's a toy soldier" He whispered to the boy.

"uhh okay...thank-you uncle Hughes..." Al replied looking at the teddy bear...

"For you, my sweet Elysia, I give you a..." Hughes paused, reaching behind the crates...

"...jumbo teddy bear!" He exclaimed and handed his daughter the giant toy.

'W-Where did that come from?' Winry thought frightened.

"Wow! Thank-you daddy!" Elysia hugged her teddy-bear in delight. It took Hughes about 2 minutes until he continued (he was busy taking pictures of Elysia)

'Where did the camera come from?' Alphonse thought, amused.

"And for you Winry, I will give you this nutcracker" Hughes pulled out a nutcracker. It was made from polished wood and its hair was tied into a blonde braid. The nutcracker wore a red military styled coat with a black shirt and pants underneath and had a glare plastered on his face.

"Eh-Ed?" Winry stared dumbly at the nutcracker.

"Yes! That's a PERFECT name for this nutcracker! Excellent job!" Hughes smiled.

"HEY!" Edward growled, standing up from his chair and pointing an accusing finger at Hughes. When Winry began to read her next line all it said was...

_Just wing it, but stay along the storyline..._

And so she did.

"I don't know uncle...is he supposed to look this SHORT?" Winry grinned mischievously as she held up the nutcracker for better observation.

"He must hate milk..." Al commented as he took the nutcracker from her grasp. It had also said to 'wing it' in his script as well.

"You guys..." Edwasd glowered as his fists clenched violently.

When Al moved to hand Winry her toy back Riza had Black Hayate swoop in and break off it's parts and then run off leaving it lying on the floor. Ed looked at the broken nutcracker in horror.

'It KILLED ME!' he half shrieked.

"Oh no! Ed!" Winry cried as she ran over to the nutcracker picking it up gently.

As she looked at it closer she realized his right arm and left leg were broken off.

'hmm how ironic...' Winry turned her gaze over to Ed who looked deep in his thoughts.

Winry faked a sob, "Oh no! He's broken!" She wailed, falling to the floor dramatically.

The people out in the audience stared at her.

"Please don't cry nee-san..." Al rushed over to Winry patting her on the back. Elysia hugged Winry for comfort, for she thought Winry was actually crying.

"What should I do?" Winry looked at the broken nutcracker.

"Give it automail!" Havoc suggested from the audience.

Ed turned around and threw Havoc a death glare.

Winry hid her laughter and turned to Hughes.

"Uncle Hughes! Can you possibly fix him?" Winry begged with tears in her eyes.

"There, there Winry-chan, of course I can!" Hughes cheered up the crying girl and bandaged up the nutcracker with his hankie.

"This'll do for now!" The man nodded her way and smiled.

"Th-Thank-you!" Winry cried happily...

As the dancing music ended the lights began to fade and all four persons left the stage. A spotlight suddenly appeared on the broken nutcracker Hughes had left on the fireplace (aka: a tall box).

Hughes appeared on stage again and walked over quietly to the 'fireplace' holding a screwdriver in one hand and the nutcracker's missing arm and leg (which oddly resembled the color of Edward's automail...) in the other ...

Hughes fixed the nutcracker and left the stage once again.

* * *

Yay! Another chapter done!–smilez- hope you enjoyed it! I had fun writing this chapter! It made me think...I was going to use the story 'A Christmas Carol' instead of 'the nutcracker' for this fanfic. But now, I'm glad I chose 'The Nutcracker' instead!

Thanks to **Twilight**, **fullmetalwinry**, **C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only**, **ChibiRaccoon**, **Crazygirl91**, **f-zelda**, and **EdWaRd E WoRsHiPpEr** for the reviews!


	3. Edward hits the stage!

Woo hoo! I'm back!

Dislaimer: If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist, would I be writing fanfics? Well...I might...but no, I don't own it...

Oh, and by the way...There are a lot of versions of the nutcracker to my dismay, but hopefully I'm kind of on the right track...

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 3**

**Edward hits the stage!**

It was just days away from the Play date and nobody had the time to rehearse! (They started rehearsing about a week and a half before the play, which the play is on Christmas Eve).

Roy Mustang had not called for a rehearsal date so people were starting to freak out...how could they possibly be in the play when they haven't yet rehearsed properly?

And as if Roy had heard their troubled thoughts, a rehearsal date was scheduled for this afternoon. Edward Elric ripped the flier from the wall of the building and read the flier out loud.

"The play rehearsal will take place 12/20" His eyes flew across the paper.

"Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell will not have to attend" He finished.

"What?" Winry looked over his shoulder. They were on their way to talk to Mustang about the rehearsal dates when they spotted the fliers.

"Wellllll fine with me!" Ed threw the paper aside, walking back to the direction they had come from. "Ed!" Winry called out as she caught the paper and reread it again. And surely it stated that they didn't need to attend the meeting.

"But why? We're the main characters!" Winry said puzzled. Al looked at the flyer as well.

"hm, do you think we should talk to Colonel Mustang?" Al suggested.

"Yeah, let's just go straight to the auditorium right now. According to this, you still need to go..." Winry told Al, she paused and looked at Ed's retreating back.

"Edward!" Winry called back to him waving her arm up in the air. Ed whirred around reluctantly and stared at her with a questioning look on his face.

"What?" Ed said grumpily.

"Let's go to the auditorium!" Winry shouted back and started walking to the auditorium.

Ed scowled but followed the two to the auditorium anyway.

X

O

X

"Fullmetal..." Roy looked up at Edward as the latter made his way down the stairs to the stage.

Roy held up a flier that was conveniently on his clipboard and shoved the flyer into the young alchemist's face pointing at the words on the bottom. "Can you read?! Do the words 'Edward and Winry will NOT have to attend' mean anything to you? Or are you just STUPID?" Roy glared at Ed.

"She made me..." Ed pointed to Winry.

"Excuse me sir, why is it that we have to sit out?" Winry asked.

"It was Maes idea, I have no idea what's going on in his screwy mind..." Roy ran his hand trough his hair frustratingly. He was tired and he didn't feel like being here...

Winry nodded and went to go find Mr. Hughes while Ed made himself comfortable with the chairs and watched as everyone helped set up for the play.

As Winry and Alphonse (he followed her) spotted Hughes, she lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Um, Mr.Hughes...Why is it that Ed and I have to sit out on this?" Winry asked. She could've sworn she saw Hughes chuckle, not just any chuckle, it was the 'I am scheming something' chuckle, Winry would call it.

"Well, Winry-chan, you will..." Hughes suddenly had an idea.

"Actually, we will need you both! Just disregard the flyer!" Hughes said a little too excitingly and walked away...

"Okay...?" Winry looked at Hughes retreating back questioningly. Al just shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay people! Let's make this quick! I want to go home!" Roy announced as he sat down in the audience's chairs. Everyone glared at Roy while taking their places.

"Winry-san! Please get into your costume!" Sheska called as she held out a fluffy looking dress. Winry gasped as she ran towards the beautiful dress. She ran her fingers along the many laces of the dress. She was then quickly sent to the storage room to change.

Minutes later, she came out of the room her face a little flustered and twirled around to show the other females. They all nodded approvingly. Riza ushered her to sit down and she tied Winry's hair into a bun with her two long bangs outlining her face.

"D-Do I really have to dress up for this? I mean it's a rehearsal after all right?" Winry fidgeted in her seat.

"We need you to wear it so we can adjust the dress later on" Gracia smiled politely.

Winry nodded understandingly and looked at herself in the mirror.

"This dress is so cute..." Winry whispered as she stood up to twirl around.

"Isn't it?" Gracia smiled.

"Edward won't know what hit him!" Maria spoke in a low whisper and grinned.

"Did you say something?" Winry turned to Maria, she thought she heard Ed's name being mentioned.

"-cough- Well...Why don't you look over your lines and I'll go see if the others are ready..." Ross quickly covered up her mistake and walked away. Gracia put some finishing touches to Winry. (Al was babysitting Elysia at this time.)

"Umm...okay..." Winry looked over her script. Hmmmm today they were supposed to rehearse the scene with the mouse king...

"PLACES PEOPLE!" Roy shouted irritated...he REALLY didn't want to be here...

As everybody took their places, the lights dimmed on the stage.

Winry silently, and nervously, crept onto the stage...

"I-I know I should be asleep...b-but..." She walked over to the fireplace and gently held the nutcracker in her hands.

"H-He's fixed?" Winry looked at the automail on the nutcracker. She repressed the urge to laugh.

"But who could've...?" She questioned lightly and made her way to the couch making herself comfortable. She stared at her nutcracker happily.

She suddenly yawned realizing how sleepy she was and rested her head on the soft cushion, cuddling the nutcracker as she drifted off to sleep...

As Winry lay 'sleeping' on the couch, the nutcracker amazingly disappeared...or was hidden under the couch by Winry. The clock struck midnight and the cuckoo bird began to come out from its hiding spot. Another spotlight landed on the far opposite side of the stage and Roy suddenly appeared with a smug look on his face. He had refused to wear his costume so he just wore his military attire. Roy also refused to wear the mouse ears, so instead he wore a crown while the others, who were also in their uniform, wore the ears whether they liked it or not. As he stepped onto the stage posing under the spotlight, causing everyone to roll their eyes. His lackey's came out and started to ruin all the Christmas decorations! Since half of Roy's group was missing...Havoc, Falman and Fuery were forced to take their places for now.

Winry awoke from all the noise and saw the hideous...scratch that...she sighed...but she had to admit he was very handsome...Ed would kill her for thinking this...ANYWAYS, she saw the dashing mouse king, and co, ruining her beautiful tree and decided to put a stop to it.

"Please stop!" she yelled as she ran towards the mouse king. Roy turned around with an annoyed look on his face.

"What did you say little girl?" Roy glared at her.

Winry gulped, "I-I said stop it! You're ruining our Christmas decorations!" she managed to squeak. He looked indeed scary.

"Get her my slaves!" Roy pointed dramatically at Winry. Everyone in the audience sweat dropped while Roy's 'slaves' glared daggers at him. Winry froze, her mind blank...what was she supposed to do now?

As Winry closed her eyes waiting for the blows to come she felt nothing. She opened her eyes hesitantly and saw her nutcracker holding off the mouse kings lackeys.

"E-Edward!" She cried in surprise. Ed was wearing a white dress shirt underneath a red overcoat with black fabric bordering the front of his jacket with golden trims and buttons outlining it as well. His shoulders had gold and black Epaulettes on them. (epaulettes are the striped things that the military have on their shoulders, it's a part of their uniform...) His bottom consisted of black dress pants.

'Why is it that only Winry and I are the only ones in costume?!' Edward thought to himself as he looked at Roy.

"Winry! Stay back!" Ed struggled with the 'henchmouse' as he was surrounded by them.

"but..." Winry stood behind Ed.

"GET BACK NOW IDIOT!" Ed shouted.

"Why are you yelling at me!" Winry roared taken aback.

"Can't you see I'm TRYING to RESCUE you? Now get back!" Ed clanged swords against Havoc's. Winry heard him mumble an "oh screw it" and threwdown his sword, clapping his hands together.

"E-Ed! You're not going to---" But before she could finish, Ed slammed his hands on the ground and an alchemic light erupted causing the henchmouse to fly everywhere. Roy used his cloak to shield himself from the flying men, he was wearing a cloak by the way.

"H-Hey! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? KILL US!" Havoc yelled as he held his head to try to stop the spinning. Agreeing groans and moans could be heard here and there.

"I-I think you overdid it this time Edward..." Winry mumbled shaking her head.

"Mere alchemy will not stop me!" Roy laughed evilly. He readied his gloves and before Ed could run for his life, flames engulfed around him. Luckily, Ed had pushed Winry aside at the last minute.

"Winry my dear girl, you shall be my bride from this day on!" Roy smiled as he ran towards her holding her hands in his.

"What!" Both Ed and Winry stared in utter confusion.

"Th-That's not how the story goes!" Ed barked.

"What? You don't want me to lay my hands on your GIRLFRIEND?" Roy grinned, emphasizing the word 'girlfriend' as much as possible.

"S-SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND! I'M NOT EVEN INTO MACHINE JUNKIES LIKE HER!" Ed stomped his foot on the ground like a chhild.

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU ALCHEMY FREAK!" Winry glared at Ed.

"This story is getting way out of hand..." Al sighed as he slapped his metal head, Hughes on the other hand was snickering.

"Mouse King sir, I would LOVE to be your bride" Winry, too furious to realize what she had just said, offered her hand to Roy.

"WHAT?! WINRY! He's the ENEMY you IDIOT!" Ed punched the air in frustration.

Havoc and the others stood there confused.

"Well..." Winry paused, "...well...I'd rather hang out with him then you any day!" Winry stuck out her tongue.

"Stop being an idiot!" Ed ruffled his hair.

"YOU'RE being the idiot, idiot!" Winry yelled.

"Don't make me come get you!" Ed said at last.

"What? Is that a THREAT? I'd like to see you try shrimp!" Winry stood behind Roy for protection.

"Get away from her!" Ed yelled as he ran towards Roy clapping his hands together again.

"Um...should we stop him?" Fuery stared at the raging battle.

"No...Let's not..." Breda stared blankly.

"Edward! Follow the story! The S-T-O-R-Y!" Ed heard Ross mouth as he glanced at her. Ed was about to say something like "to hell with the story!" But he hesitated. Al glared at Ed, which he noticed.

"L-let her go you fiend!" Ed stuttered, scared that Al would give him a lecture later on as he readied his hands.

"...I'm not cleaning the stage up..." Hawkeye sighed as she sat in the special effects booth, her legs spread across the table leaning in her chair comfortably. By a mere observation, the stage was a mess now, Roy and Ed were running around shooting or whatever they were doing at each other with their alchemy.

"WINRY STOP BEING STUBBORN!" Ed glanced over at her as she stood back watching the two battle all out.

"I am NOT being stubborn! You're the one being stubborn!" Winry fought back.

"ME?" Edward pointed at himself flabbergasted.

"Yes! YOU!" Winry continued to glare.

"Why me?!" Ed yelled back.

"Just...because...!" Winry hesitated to find an answer.

"WHY?"

"BECAUSE I SAY SO!"

Edward's hands balled up into fists.

"Forget this! this is stupid!" Ed rolled his eyes and jumped off the stage. He continued to walk, ignoring everyone's calls.

"BROTHER!" Al got up and called him.

"WHAT?" Ed said impatiently, turning around.

"You can't ditch!" Al said simply.

"Yes I can! Watch me..."

'I can't work with that machine junky anymore...' Ed glared at no one in particular, he took one look at Winry hoping to get his glare across to her as well. He expected her to retort something like "FINE! I don't want a shrimp like you to be my rescuer anyways!" But instead...

Ed froze.

What he noticed made him even more infuriated, but not with Winry, but with himself. He knew this would happen...he TRIED to control his temper but it was impossible to when someone annoying like Winry was there nagging him all the time.

He met Winry's gaze...

Winry was standing there, her eyes filled with anger and hatred. He didn't think she even noticed it, but he did.

She was crying.

Ed sighed frustratingly and hesitantly walked back towards the stage running a hand through his hair, he was doing that a lot lately...In fact, he did that a lot when Winry was around...Al hadn't noticed the tears that almost invisibly appeared on her cheeks, he was staring at Ed questionably. Ed could be a far better observer then Al at times.

As he jumped up on the stage and made his way slowly to Winry, he lead her away holding her hand in his. Winry of course protested and threatened to hit him but he continued to pull her anyway.

As the two were backstage, Edward found it hard to find the right words.

"What is it now? Do you want us to cancel the show? Would that be better?" Winry said as she glared at him, still unaware of her tears.

"...Here..." Ed grumbled as he handed her his handkerchief. He turned around to give her some time as she noticed her tears and wiped them embarrassingly. Although she was still mad at him she couldn't help but smile at the thought of this rare chivalrous moment from Ed.

Silence overcame the both as Ed stared at the wall and Winry at the ground.

"I'm sorry!" They both said at the same time. Well, Ed said it in a quieter way, like a quick mumble of "sorry..."

They both stared at each other and both started to laugh.

Unaware of this, Hughes and the others had come to spy on the two. Roy was lucky he brought his camcorder, he had been planning to use it to have Hughes record the rehearsal for fun but this was much more fun then recording the play...he grinned, thinking of another blackmail item to store away to use later whenever Fullmetal went all wise-ass on him.

Ed opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't say it, he hated to show acts of kindness, it embarrassed him...So the two stayed quiet for a while. And then Winry turned on her heel and started to walk away. Before Ed could say something to stop her, he heard her sigh and she turned around looking straight into his golden eyes.

"It's alright...I forgive you..." Winry smiled and walked back onstage. The others who were spying on them quickly rushed away knocking into one another causing everyone to fall over.

As Winry saw the pile of people she raised a suspicious brow.

"AHAHAHA...Nothing like a game of dog pile huh?" Al said lamely causing Winry to be more suspicious. She merely shrugged it off and walked on stage to get the rehearsal over with.

As everyone got theirselves together and went to their rightful places, the rehearsals started once again.

"A-hem...let's see...where were we?" Winry glanced at her script but remembered that she didn't' really have one, hence the 'just wing it'.

Edward suddenly got in front of Winry glaring at Roy. Roy shrugged as if not knowing what Ed's oh so deadly glare was about.

"pssssst...what are we supposed to do now?" Winry whispered to Ed.

"How should I know? I don't remember how the mouse king was defeated..." Ed whispered back.

"hmm I think I was supposed to throw my slipper at him to distract him and you would stab him or something like that..." Winry thought aloud.

"Heh, that's if you can jump up high enough to stab me" Roy leered, grinning with pleasure.

"Oh no..." Winry shook her head.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK?" Ed charged towards Roy, who just danced away dodging all of Ed's blows.

"Who else would I be talking to?" Roy added more oil to Ed's forest fire.

Ed stuck up his middle finger.

Roy suddenly stopped in his tracks and jumped off the stage walking over to Hughes and whispered something to him. Hughes answered with a nod here and there and a rare "hmmm...really?" Ed and Winry didn't like the looks of this. Hughes suddenly clapped his hands, after asking everybody to gather around, excluding Winry and Ed, they got there after the short dicussion was done."Okay, rehearsals over! See you during the play! We'll send you all scripts beforehand!" Hughes said to everyone but directed it mostly towards Edward and Winry.

"What? B-but!" Ed and Winry both mumbled as the others rushed out mumbling excuses like, "Umm I forgot i had to sign papers" and such. Ed and Winry rushed towards the exit of the theater still in costume, they stood at the outside entrance of the doors in absolute confusion as everyone disappeared around the corner.

"What just..." Winry started.

"happened...?" Edward finished.

They couldn't place their fingers on it but something was going on...and they could smell someones plotting from miles away...

* * *

Ah I shall stop here for today! Well, how do ya like it! I got some things up my sleeves! Woohoo! 


	4. Where's Winry?

No more delays!!! Here it is!!!

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 4**

**Where's Winry?**

Clinking of dishes could be heard and the light sound from the television didn't make the atmosphere less quiet then it was when Al had left. The small cuckoo clock struck 2:oo P.M. Winry Rockbell placed the dishes onto the rack to dry and wiped her hands using a paper towel. She continued to clean up the kitchen area.

Edward Elric lie lazily on the sofa in front of the television screen with his golden hair in a mess and his stomach exposed to the public. He yawned lazily as he scratched his stomach while flipping through the channels.

The young Rockbell stepped into the living room where Ed was and looked at him perplexedly.

"Is this what you do when Al's not around?" She asked disappointed in her childhood friend. Ed didn't even eye her. She sighed.

"Well there's nothing to do today…it's my week off, I have to keep you company…." He said…did she detect…_reluctance_ in his voice?!

"Some company this is..." Winry muttered, rolling her sapphire eyes. She eyed Ed again as he yawned.

"Oh really? You sound a little put down by that…" Winry balled up her fists, a glare forming on her features

"What? Oh no Win! Sorry if I sounded like I meant for it to be that way! I seriously want to spend time with you!" Edward sat up straight and looked into her eyes. Winry felt her voice beginning to fade away.

"At least that's what you want me to say right? Like I would be caught dead saying that…MACHINE JUNKY" Ed stuck out his tongue and faced the TV once more.

Winry's face turned pale…then red…and as the clock ticked by with each passing second, her rage began to bubble more and more inside of her.

The next thing Ed knew, Winry had left the room…

With her wrench literally sticking out from the side of his skull…

Winry mumbled curses towards the short alchemist in her mind as she walked as far away from Edward as possible in the small dorm room. She wondered when Al would be coming back…he was gone for at least two hours already…She also remembered how he acted this morning…

-FLASHBACK-

_"Where are you heading off to Al?" Winry had glanced at the younger Elric as he bid his brother farewell in the next room. When the words left her mouth she could've sworn she sensed him tense up for a mere second. He slowly turned around and scratched his metal head._

_"Oh! Um….well…um…just…you know…going around is all…heh" He said slowly which caused Winry to arch a brow skywards. She stared at Al blankly as if saying "Oh come on….now I know you're hiding something" But before she could open her mouth to interrogate him any furthur he said a quick "Be back around 4! Bye Winry!" and speedily ran to the door slamming it shut as he scrambled away._

_"Weird…" Winry shrugged scratching her head and just let it go for now. She walked towards the table and started to clear the dishes_.

-END FLASHBACK-

Winry propped her chin in her hand and tilted her head to the side...'I wonder where Al went...?' She thought about reasons for why he would sneak out and only one thing came to mind...she did recall that last time when the rehearsals were to be held without Winry and Ed...she tapped her fingers on the marble countertop..."So that's where he went..." She pondered. She stared at the clock...2:30 PM. She had lots of time to do whatever she wanted to but what she would do was the question here...

"Hey Ed..." Winry poked her head through the doorway once again.

"What?" He said gruffly. Winry glared at the short alchemist.

"Umm...I was just thinking..." Winry said slowly catching Fullmetal's attention.

"Well..." She fidgeted...

"Well...?" He stared at her quizzically.

"Can I borrow some money to---"

"NO!"

"..."

"B-But I haven't even--!"

"No Winry...whenever I lend you my card you go shop happy on it...besides...you maxed it out the LAST time I lent it to you...and you were only sent out to buy GROCERIES with it too!" He glared at her. Winry pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well...It's YOUR fault for sending me to do the groceries in Rush Valley!" She countered.

"Well, I'll never do it again that's for sure..." Ed said expressionlessly. Winry narrowed her eyes at Ed. That didn't work since he acted like he didn't notice the heavy atmosphere.

"You...you...you cheap shrimp alchemist!!!" She yelled.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Ed nearly jumped out of his seat. Winry shrugged with a satisfying smirk. "I said...you cheap SHRIMP alchemist...got a problem with that?" She put her face inches away from his. Edward growled. "Well..." He stalked backwards, "You...you prejudice to short people girl!" Edward pointed. "WHAT?!" She was about to throw her wrench at him for the 500th time but she had stopped herself when she had noticed something outside...

Outside of Ed's window there stood a giant Christmas tree in the central plaza and the military personnel were helping decorate it. "Ack!" Winry slapped her forehead..."What?" Edward looked at her, his head still covered by his hands in slight fear.

"Um…nothing! Let's just wait for Al to come back! umm I'm a little sleepy so I'm gonna take a nap k? bye!" Winry quickly made her way to her room and closed the door leaving Ed alone to shrug it off and go back to the TV to see what was on...

"Girls..." he mumbled as he made his butt comfortable with the couch once more...

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"I can't believe I forgot!!" Winry yelled into her pillow.

**CHRISTMAS!!!**

"I need to buy gifts! It's almost time!" She rolled around on her bed like a little child. She abruptly sat up. Actually, she did have money with her, but her policy was "use Ed's money (when he was with her) before she used hers" but in this case she guessed it wouldn't work...But she needed to sneak out later so he wouldn't suspect anything. She knew he didn't want her to go through the trouble and she knew he'd just say it was a waste of time to get him something. But she had to! It was Christmas after all, and she hadn't spent Christmas with the Elrics for so long!

She then made her decision.

She would wait...wait for her chance when Ed would fall asleep and then go, she'd leave a note too in case he panicked. The note would say something like "Going to look at automail stuff...be back later"

...yeah...that would be perfect...

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"Umm…is this the place?" Alphonse Elric walked the streets of Central and he was now in front of an old abandoned building. "Looks kinda shady…" He noted to himself. His metal feet clanked up the stairs as he cautiously made his way up them. He reread the note in his hands which had been slipped to him by Black Hayate the other day.

_Alphonse,_

_Old central building by the Deli bakery._

_Be there at 2:30 PM_

_Roy Mustang_

"Pretty blunt the Colonel is…" Alphonse remarked and pushed the doors open.

Beyond the doors revealed the military personnel's sitting around a large table, all in dark black suits. One lamp hung over the middle of the table barely lighting up the room. All shadowy heads turned towards Alphonse.

"Secret yakuza meeting!?" Alphonse stepped back frightened.

"...Oh the suits…? We just got back from a funeral…" Havoc said as he reached into his pocket to grab another cigarette.

Al relaxed…a little…

Alphonse took a seat between Warrant Officer Falman and Lt. Hawkeye.

"Really…why did we have to even go? That old coot was going to roll over and drop dead sooner or later…" Roy Mustang cut in. "…I had a date scheduled…" He added scratching his head in frustration. Riza looked at him with a bit of disappointment and shook her head.

Falman leaned towards Al and whispered "Colonel Mustang was always criticized by the guy…" Alphonse nodded in understanding and Falman added, "The old man has always hated the Colonel…" Al just made an "ohh" sound.

"umm…anyways…why are we here? We could've just met in the auditorium…" Maria Ross spoke up.

Everyone shrugged except for Hughes.

"Well…we need to be cautious…Ed could always just waltz into the auditorium…" Hughes shifted his glasses. No one believed his lie and apparently no one felt like caring whether it was a lie or not.

"Well…let's start planning for the big day…" Hughes cleared his throat.

"But don't we need to rehearse?" Sgt. Fuery asked.

"No…just know your parts…I think it would be more fun if it's like that…" He grinned.

Everyone shivered as Hughes glasses gleamed evilly.

"Urghh! They have got to get that window covered!" Hughes said as he shielded his eyes from the light gleaming on his glasses. (**A/n: haha kinda corny I know…)** Everyone sweat dropped.

"Two days from now will be the big day! Make sure that the costumes are ready and that the stage will be perfect!" Hughes ordered. Sheska was in charge of the set and he had sent her just a while ago to gather other people who were willing to help out. "First Lieutenant Hawkeye, I want you and Second Lieutenant Ross to have everyone fitted for their costumes by Christmas Eve" The two women nodded. "We got a lot of work to do people" Hughes stated. "Roy, are you sure you can convince Kimbley and Grand to be apart of the show?" The man questioned. Roy smirked in response and said a simple "Who do you think I am?" Hughes shook his head and gave a light chuckle.

"Right…Ah! Before I forget…I have a plan about what we should do for the last scene…." Hughes hung his head low and a smirk spread across his face. Everyone leaned in to hear the plan...

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Why?

Why?

WHY? WHY?

**WHY?!**

'Why won't that shrimp fall asleep already?!" Winry peeked through a crack in her door and saw Edward laughing at the comedic show on TV as he munched on snacks. It was 3:15 and Edward had not fallen asleep yet. Winry decided to formulate other plans in her mind.

Plan B was to sneak out through the window in the hallway. But that would be too risky if Ed heard her.

Plan C was (Winry had hoped not to use this one but if the conditions were met she would have to) to hit Ed with her metal suitcase, knocking him unconscious and after she would make her escape.

Surely she didn't want to resolve to using Plan C. She went back to her bed and sat down. Minutes later she found herself lying her head on her pillow and her eyelids shutting themselves from the world…

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Winry awoke at 15 'til four and she sat up stretching her arms out. She rubbed the back of her neck yawning a little bit. She heard the TV sounds coming from the living room. 'Ed's still watching TV?' Winry thought unacceptably, she would probably have no choice but to commence plan C. Before she would start her plan she would have to get dressed first.

She opened the door with a small creak and tiptoed out of her room holding her metal suitcase. She slowly and stealthily tip-toed in the hallway, her grip on her suitcase as tight as ever. As she peeked into the room she found that Edward was actually asleep.

She smiled as she looked at him sprawled across the couch like a little kid, his flesh hand scratching his stomach, revealing some skin. Her grip on the suitcase loosened and she set it down next to the couch. She quietly reached for the notepad on the table while she turned off the TV with a click. She hastily wrote "_Ed, I'm going out around the district shops, be back later, Winry_" on the pad and placed it on the table where he was bound to find it when he woke.

Before she left, she placed a blanket over Ed and grabbed her coat to leave. She took one last glance at the chibi alchemist and gave a bright smile closing the door with a soft thud.

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As Alphonse strolled along the roads of central, he thought of Mr. Hughes plan…

"Will it work…?" He asked no one in particular. He doubted it would, considering Ed's character. But he would stay quiet and watch things unfold before him. He had never expected Mr. Hughes to be so…….sinister was a good word for it. It was hard to picture this was the same guy who would shove pictures of his daughter in your face talking nonstop about how cute she was the other day. He shrugged.

"I guess everyone just has their 'evil-plotting' days" he laughed it off.

As Alphonse reached the dorm room, he had found Ed fast asleep on the couch looking as uncool as ever with his usual exposed stomach position. He tsked at his brother and soon found the note Winry had scribbled on the piece of paper. He read it and a light bulb binged in his mind. If he could, he would've had a grin on his face matching that of the Cheshire cat's himself.

"I guess everyone has their 'evil plotting' days indeed…" he said, his voice filled with amusement.

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Winry walked the busy streets of Central while looking through the windows wondering what to get Alphonse and Edward. She sighed. She had no idea what they wanted! She racked her brain for any ideas. Stumped, she decided to just walk around and see what there was.

Winry scratched her head. Maybe she shouldn't get Ed and Al anything that lasted long because then they would probably be burdened into carrying it around. So she decided to get something that temporarily lasted.

As her boots tapped against the stone floors, she saw a display of two teddy bears standing on white cotton. The bears would move forward and kiss and red lights in their cheeks would light up. Of course the bears had Christmas clothing on. Winry smiled and stared at it some more. "How cute" she mused. She decided to stop playing around and look for gifts. She should get gifts for other people as well…

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About an hour after Al had arrived at the dorm.

"Brother! There's trouble!" Alphonse shook the now fully awake state alchemist from his slumber. Edward reluctantly opened an eye. "What is it Al?" He answered with a hint of sleepiness still in his system.

Alphonse waited a bit until Ed had focused his attention on him.

"It's Winry!" Alphonse managed to say before Ed cried a "What about her?" Ed's face showed so much worry Alphonse held in his laughter.

"What is it?! What's wrong?" Edward sat up quickly.

"Well, when I got back, I was about to look for Winry to ask her something…but there was no sign of her" Alphonse said.

Edward then calmed down by that statement.

"Ughh Geez Al and here you got me all worked up for nothing! She's probably going out shopping or something" Ed waved his automail hand dismissing the topic. Edward glanced at the table next to the couch and picked up the note. "You see? She even left us a note…" Ed said holding it up to Al

Al paused. He then breathed in a sigh of relief.

"Oh hahah, I'm sorry brother…" Alphonse scratched his head in embarrassment. After about 5 minutes of Edward laughing at Al, Al picked up the object nearest him to shut his brother up. And that object happened to be the TV remote. He threw it at Ed, missing him, but hitting the wall instead. The power button clicked and the TV then turned on. Edward then again teased him on his throwing abilities. But before Ed could start joking again, he heard the news reporter make a very interesting announcement.

"Now it's time to update about the wanted serial rapist in Central. He is described as having jet black hair and is around the age of 27-30. 2 more victims have been added to his list making it 6 rapes in total. His targets seem to be young women. Please be alert and refrain from going outside! I repeat…" The 2 brothers froze.

Edward quickly grabbed his jacket as Al managed to get the door open to let his brother out. "Brother, you go towards the shopping district and I'll check the park!" Alphonse yelled back at Ed before they both split ways outside the dormitory. With a quick nod Edward ran towards his said place.

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As Winry strayed farther away from the common busy stores and was now at the small stores which were less full, she noticed the lights in this area were a little dim and the voices of the chatting crowd began to fade.

"I think I should head back now…" She said. There were no other interesting shops down where she was and she decided to turn around and make her way back. As she walked silently humming to herself down the empty street, a cold hand was placed on her shoulder.

Winry turned around and gasped.

* * *

DUN DUN DUN!!! Sorry folks but that's all you're getting…this chapter was intentionally supposed to be longer and go all the way up until Ed had found her but I think it would be too long so I decided to split it up into 2 chapters. Yeah I know, the concept of the serial killer was SO cliche... R and R people!! 

DISCLAIMER: I DON NOT OWN FMA!


	5. I'm sorry

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA!

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 5**

**I'm Sorry**

Winry turned around and gasped.

"Ms. Hawkeye!" Winry bowed before the Lieutenant in respect. Riza bowed as well. "I didn't expect to see you here Miss Rockbell" Riza smiled. She was now in civilian clothing. Winry barely recognized the woman, she never seen Riza in anything else but her military uniform. Riza wore a light brown trench coat that covered her long sleeve white button up blouse, a dark brown scarf wrapped around her neck. She had on dark brown pants to match her scarf and her hair was cascading around her shoulders.

"You can just call me Winry" Winry smiled putting aside the formalities.

"Only if you call me Riza" Riza smiled warmly in return. Winry didn't expect that.

"O-okay M-…umm Riza", the name rolling off Winry's tongue as if it were a foreign language.

"So what brings you here Riza?" Winry still couldn't help the last word being said awkwardly. Riza walked by her side as she held on to her bags.

"I'm here to safeguard the Colonel on his date" Riza said matter-of-factly. Winry thought about it for awhile. Riza could tell by the look of the young girls face that she was indeed confused.

"You never know whether the woman he goes out with is plotting against him, so that's why I'm here" Riza said pointing at herself. Winry nodded, taking it in a little bit at a time.

"It must be a tough job huh?" Winry giggled. Riza sighed in response. Winry laughed out loud at this.

"You have no idea…" Riza inwardly smirked.

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"-gahchoo!" Colonel Mustang sneezed into his handkerchief.

"Oh my Colonel, do you have a cold?" A red headed lady sat across from him in a fancy Italian restaurant.

"No, I'm sorry Sarah, someone must be talking about me" Mustang waved it off with his right hand.

"I wouldn't be surprised! You are after all, a very handsome man!" She whispered the last sentence seductively into his ear as she leaned her body over the table. Mustang said nothing but gave her a mischievous smile in return.

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'Winry!' Ed thought to himself as he ran towards the shopping districts. He stood in the center of the main square and looked around him as the many bustling people made their way to their destined places. He ran a frustrated hand through his bangs.

'Where are you?'

Ed's last thoughts drifted to the time Winry had been kidnapped by Barry the Chopper. He clenched his fists together as he aimlessly picked a random direction and ran towards it.

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Al sat down on a lone bench in the park watching the pigeons come down to peck at the crumbs of bread he had bought a moment ago.

Al would've been dead worried about his childhood friend as Ed was but after all, it was the little Elric's plan and after he had 'split up' with Edward, he had gone back to room to turn off the TV and eject the video tape in the running VCR, a smirk playing on his features.

"Mr Hughes would be proud..." He said as he fed the pidgeons more bread...

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Winry decided that she, having nothing else to do, would keep the lieutenant company until the colonel had finished with his date. She didn't want to admit it but she felt like it was her duty to stay with her until Roy had finished up. Winry and Riza had decided to talk about light things like plans for the holidays or how the other was doing.

Winry stretched her arms out and took a quick peek at her watch, 5:50 P.M, the sun was setting and the Christmas lights were beginning to turn on one by one. Riza noticed the slight tiredness in Winry's posture.

"You can go now if you want Winry" Riza said politely as she stayed put on short stone wall a little ways across from the restaurant her colonel as in currently. Winry sat back down and shook her head furiously. "No! I'm alright! It's nice to get some fresh air once in awhile right? Besides, I want to see what awaits this beautiful street when all the Christmas lights are up!" Winry smiled. Riza smiled and suddenly stood up, confusing Winry. Roy was now exiting the restaurant with the female and walked her to her car. The woman seemed to be persuading the colonel to come with her but he gently declined.

"I'm sorry Ms. Sarah, but I have to report back to work now" he said with a displeased sigh. Sarah frowned and pleaded for him to take the rest of the day off. Winry didn't know why but she felt the urge to stop this scene right then, for she feared how it would affect the woman standing beside her.

Sarah, being upset by the fact that she wasn't going get her way, began to put her arms around the colonel. Seeing as how Roy had lost, Winry stepped in to Riza's dismay. 'Tch…men and boys are all alike…' Winry rolled her eyes as she made her way down the street.

"Colonel Mustang? I found you!" Winry said capturing the twos attention. She half ran towards the two. Riza hid her amused smile and stayed where she was. Sarah looked at her incredulously and frowned automatically. Roy could tell her eyes were asking "who is she?" when she turned to look back at him.

"I was told you are needed back at the office" Winry stated, she then set her sapphire eyes on Sarah and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Winry…Colonel Mustangs…niece…" Winry tried not to struggle the last words out. "I'm staying in central for the holidays" She added.

"Oh! Is that so? What a cute little girl you are!" Sarah said, obviously sucking up to Winry. Winry mentally rolled her eyes. She then eyed Roy from the corner of her eyes and made a signal cough. Roy looked at her amused and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Ms. Sarah…but I should escort my...niece...back" Roy said sheepishly. Sarah pouted but agreed nonetheless. "Alright…I'll see you later then…" She would have given Roy a goodbye kiss if it weren't for Winry staring at her intently. Roy, for once wasn't upset with the fact that his date was rudely interrupted, I mean, who could stay mad at a lovely lady like Winry? As Sarah got into her car and waved goodbye, her car going out of view, Winry lifted her 'mask' off.

"Colonel Mustang sir, I have to say I'm not pleased with the way you deal with us women, you did very poorly for my standards" Winry half-joked. Roy chuckled.

"I guess I owe you a 'thanks'…" He scratched his cheek. Winry smiled in return. Before Riza had time to step out from her area hidden from Roy's view, Edward ran the corner and stopped when he saw Winry with Roy.

"Winry!" Edward yelled running up to her.

Suddenly his imagination got carried away and he pictured a scenario of the bastard colonel trying to lead his friend into a dark alley where he would have his way with her.

He then remembered the announcement…

Jet black hair…

Around his late twenties…

Roy was the rapist...?

Roy was the rapest!!!

He thought of all those times Roy had flirted and gone out with all those women…

That was SO possible… (in Ed's mind that is…)

"YOU BASTARD! I knew you were DEPRIVED…but this is just SICK! I'll kill you!" Ed immediately transmuted his right arm and ran towards Mustang. Roy had a look on him Winry knew as the 'WTF' look. Before Ed could lay his transmuted automail arm on him, Riza appeared in front of him using her gun to block Ed's blade. "Lieutenant!" Roy said a little surprised. It took Winry a moment to sink all this in.

"Ed! What the hell are you doing?" She stepped in between them causing Ed to stop his assaults. Edward pulled Winry behind him.

"Stay back Winry! This guy…I didn't even know he would stoop so low…" Edward growled furiously. Winry was once again confused.

"What the hell are you talking about Fullmetal?" Roy swiftly dodged Ed's attacks. Riza and Winry then proceeded to separate the two. Winry held Edward back, while Riza stood in front of Roy as a bodyguard.

"Ed, what's gotten into you?" Winry winced as she struggled to hold Ed back.

"What's gotten into me? Winry! He was trying to rape you!" Ed blurted out.

The three looked at him astounded. Riza then looked at Roy who shook his head violently in defense.

"He was trying to...? What are you talking about?!" Winry's patience began to run out.

"There's this serial rapist on the loose in Central and you're looking right at him!" Edward pointed accusingly at Roy. Roy's head moved back in appall.

"Serial rapist…? What…" Winry was about to continue when Riza cut in.

"Do you mean Theodore Hayward? The man who had raped 6 young women before he was arrested yesterday?"

"…." The young alchemist paused...

"…what was that?" Edward looked at the lieutenant, stopping his struggling atempts.

"Theodore Hayward, jet black hair and 28 years old. He was convicted of a series of rapes around Central and was taken in yesterday by an officer" Riza spoke once again.

For once Ed was at a lost for words…

"Nii-san!" Alphonse came running up to the four with his loud clanking of metal. He waved to them and slowed as he neared.

"Al? what're you doing here?" Edward asked, obviously not wanting to switch back to the current situation at hand.

Al held up a newspaper article about the Theodore fellow. "It seems that the news report we saw was a rerun and that he was already caught yesterday" Ed stiffened at the once again clarified news which brought him to the same conclusion.

Roy was not the rapist…

And he…

He was…

he was DEAD MEAT...

"So…Fullmetal…" Ed could feel shivers run up and down his spine as Roy's low voice echoed in the cool night.

"…suspecting your superior as a rapist huh?" the flame alchemist pulled on his gloves. Ed could see the flames in Roy's eyes at the moment. Edward paled. He then did what anyone with common sense would do…

he ran…

RAN FOR HIS DEAR LIFE!

Roy smirked menacingly (and angrily) and sprinted on after the chibi alchemist, yelling threats here and there.

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"BUAHAHAHAH!!!" Winry laughed in the Elric's dorm room as she sat in a chair across from the sofa Ed was sprawled on. Ed was wrapped up in bandages at the moment. Edward mumbled profanities and Al chuckled.

After Roy's attack on Ed, Alphonse had to carry the half-dead alchemist home. Riza and Winry bid farewell and Winry apologized for Ed's vulgar behavior. As Winry fixed up Ed's wounds, Al had told her the story.

"I can't believe you Ed!" Winry managed to say through giggles. She shook her head from side to side disbelieving her ears. Edward turned, having his back face Winry.

"But you know Winry…if the guy was still out there, we wouldn't know what we'd do if anything happened to you" Alphonse said, starting to feel guilty for his brother. Winry's laughter died down to an abrupt stop. She looked down guiltily as well.

"You're right Al..." she glanced at Edward's back. "I'm sorry for laughing at you Ed…" she said sadly, traces of laughter in her voice now long gone. Ed spoke nothing.

"Edward…" Winry got up from her chair and kneeled down beside him. She gently took his hand in hers. Al managed to slip away from the two, knowing his plan was going the way he wanted...

"Thank-you…for caring about me…" Winry said. Ed shifted a little in embarassment.

"I…" Ed mumbled as he sat back up in his seat, looking down towards his lap. Winry tilted her head to the side questioningly.

"I...was scared…" he admitted with an exasperated sigh. He sat up and looking into her eyes. He ran his flesh hand through his hair and huffed. "It made me think of the time you were kidnapped by Barry…" he squeezed his hand over hers. Winry could tell how hard Edward struggled to tell her this, judging by how his hand shook in hers. He stood up quickly planning to make his escape before she could see his blush beginning to creep up his face. Winry quickly grabbed his hair and turned him around, pulling him close to her as she placed her arms behind his head hugging him.

"I'm sorry Edward…I really am…" She muffled in his shoulder, tears threatening to spill. Unnoticed, a blush crept faintly on her cheeks as well.

"Winry…" Edward looked at her, his golden eyes landed on her tear marks on his shirt. Exasperated with himself, he patted her head bringing them closer. Winry tried to wipe away her tears. "You idiot…" Ed mumbled slightly rolling his eyes embarrassed while ruffling her hair. She let out a small cry as she clutched onto his jacket. The two stayed like that for awhile longer.

Edward then started to realize how soft she was and howcute she looked at the moment...

"Uhh OKAY! Enough of this mushy stuff!" Edward gently pushed Winry away with a cough.

Winry shook her head wiping her tears as she let out a giggle.

"Well I better go take a shower then..." Winry said as she walked to her room, closing the door lightly.

Edward opted to lie on the couch, his eyes staring blankly at the white painted ceiling.

"Way to ruin a perfect moment bro, that was so lame" Alphonse spoke up, sitting on the couch opposite him. Edward nearly fell out of his chair.

"A-Al!" He squeaked, his face turning a pretty shade of pink. "W-What're you talking about?!"

edward could tell his brother was giving him an all-knowing look.

"...Uhh I need to go polish my automail! later!" The tiny alchemist ran out of the room in .o5 seconds flat. Alphonse sighed.

"Oh boy...Will this really work out Mr. Hughes?" The young boy asked no one in particular.

* * *

Whoa! Sap alert! Did it seem kind of rushed? Sorry bout that...I know the mood is kinda changed too quickly too...Well, R&R please!!! 

The next chapter will finally start with the play again!


	6. The awaited Day!

Umm what deadline??

I dedicate this chapter to all my readers who have not given up on me yet (hang in there for me!!)

It looks like I will not make the deadline after all….meh.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist thank-you very much!

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 6**

**The Awaited Day!**

Luckily for some of the military men, the cast list was edited. But that also meant they had to reread their lines...just 10 hours before curtain time...

BUT!

Havoc, Fuery and Falman didn't care! They weren't fairy dancers anymore! Hence, explaining the 3 men skipping through the hallway...

The Nutcracker Cast List (FINAL)

(The cast names will be used in the play, not the destined character names)

Clara - Winry Rockbell

The Nutcracker- Edward Elric

Herr Drosselmeyer- Maes Hughes

Fritz- Alphonse Elric

Mouse King- Roy Mustang

Sugar Plum Fairy- Riza Hawkeye

Fairy Dancers- Alex Armstrong, Sheska, Maria Ross,

The Nutcrackers men- Jean Havoc, Kain Fuery, Vato Falman, Heymans Breda

Mouse kings men- Basque Grand, Zolf Kimbley, Denny Brosh

**(A/N: There are also other fairy dancers and people in it but these are just the people who matter okay? haha)**

The 3 men then started to dance happily in circles, not caring who saw them. (they were in the military lounge by the way)

"Hmmm but doesn't that mean you'll feel the wrath of the colonel's flames?" Brosh brought up as he passed by. The 3 froze in mid-dance.

"..."

"But you'll also have to deal with Edward's attacks as well..." Fuery countered. The other two men agreed nodding their heads in sync.

"Well, I'd rather that then be burnt to a crisp!" He joked and walked off taking a sip of his coffee. The 3 then proceeded to sit in the corner of the lounge sulking their poor little hearts out. Riza stepped in the office and stared at them for a mere two seconds before carrying on with her task at hand. She proceeded to get two cups of coffee for herself and for the Colonel.

Unknown to the others, Riza was also a bit displeased that her role for the play remained the same but said nothing of it. She had at least enough sense to hold her emotions in. As she walked back to the office, she wondered if the stage and props were all set. Come to think of it, she had not seen her costume yet either.

"Good morning Colonel, I've brought your coffee" She placed the cup on Roy's desk. The colonel mumbled a quick 'thanks' and proceeded to forcefully push himself to finish his paperwork by the time the play started (Because Riza had threatened to shoot him if he had not finished).

Roy felt that Riza was still standing beside his desk and looked up at her.

"Is something the matter lieutenant?" He asked, immediately noticing she wanted to say something.

"Well sir...I was wondering about my part in the play, it seems like I do not have a costume so therefore..." Riza did not get to finish as Roy interrupted…

"Ah yes! I have your costume!" He grinned to himself.

"Sir..?" She looked confused, feeling something conniving about the colonel's expression. As to answer Riza's raised brow, Roy stood and walked to his closet, he then proceeded to open it and rummage around until he found what he was looking for.

"You...lieutenant" dramatic pause, "...will be wearing..." Roy lifted in front of his face what seemed to be a short, skimpy strapless dress that would reach her upper thighs and consisted colors of blue, purple, pink and light green all over. The bottom was sickeningly (to her tastes) fluffy. He held up matching wings in his other hand. "THIS!" he finished triumphantly.

The sound of a safety on a gun clicked.

Roy laughed nervously and backed up a bit.

"A-A joke Hawkeye, it was just a joke..." He merely laughed off his fear for the woman. He put the costume back in his closet.

"I find that joke not a laughing matter sir" Riza stared at him blankly, her right hand still on her holster. Roy began to backtrack as far away as possible.

"Umm...G-Gracia has your dress for you! Just ask her! I promise I didn't pick it out so you do not have to worry!" He muttered quickly. With that said Riza seemed to feel a little relieved. She clicked her safety back on and went to sit at her desk to finish her work. Maes walked in to see a shivering Mustang backed against his closet door and a rather calm Hawkeye filling out paperwork.

"Uh, what's the matter Roy?" He walked up to him. Roy snapped out of his terror and smoothed out his uniform with a light cough. "Um nothing...What do you want Maes?" He made an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh right! Well, I just wanted to tell you that the preparations for the Play are ready and that we meet at eighteen hundred hours in the auditorium" Roy nodded and lead Maes out of his office claiming to have to finish his paperwork.

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Edward, Alphonse and Winry sat in the living room of the dorm staring at anywhere but each other. Well, Edward was staring at anything but a said sapphire-eyed blonde girl right now.

Winry glanced at Ed, which was at the moment trying to avoid any possible eye contact with her.

"Hey Ed…" Winry started, trying to get a conversation going.

"W-WHAT DO YOU WANT MACHINE JUNKY!!" Ed stood up his cheeks aflame.

"…."

Winry was at a lost of words.

"W-what's your DEAL?!" She shouted back agitated.

"B-brother…" Al raised his hands up to calm the older Elric.

"Nothing!" He turned away from her with a 'humph' as he crossed his arms.

Edward didn't know what she was saying but he heard the words 'Edward', 'pipsqueak' and 'shrimp' in the same sentence.

Luckily the phone rang, clearing the abnormal aura around the room. Alphonse quickly sat up with an "I got it!" and dashed to the phone. After a few minutes of nods and 'yeses' he hung up and brought out the news.

"That was Mr. Hughes just now, he said to meet in the auditorium at 6:00" Alphonse stated.

Winry gave a nod and Ed didn't reply at all.

X

O

X

It was exactly 3:00 P.M

Riza had finished her duties early so she went to go check out her costume. She had called Gracia and the woman had told her it was in the stage room closet adding a "you can't miss it because it has your name labeled on it.

Riza made her way up the stage steps to the back stage and headed towards the room that stored the costumes. She browsed through the costumes one by one, passing Winry and Ed's costume. She passed the mouse kings costume (yes he was supposed to wear a costume for the actual play, they had fitted the costume for Roy already just this morning)

She stopped in front of a bag that had her name written on it neatly. She took the bag off the hook and lifted up the covers of plastic inwardly gasping as she revealed the dress in front of her.

The dress was a long slim dress that would show all her curves. It was strapless and had a slit through both sides of the dress sure to reveal her legs. The dress had a tail that she would drag behind her as she walked. The main color was dark purple that faded into light purple as the dress reached her feet. Glitter was all over the dress as well. Also inside the bag were her matching lilac wings.

She had to admit it was beautiful but she thought it was too revealing. 'Well at least it's not as revealing as the colonels' She placed her hand under her chin thinking about what she should do.

She sighed. She might as well try on the dress right? She needed to make sure it fit.

Locking the door she started to undress and slip the dress on quickly. She secured her wings after and cursed the room for not having a mirror inside. She had no choice but to go back out to the back stage mirror. She unlocked the door, taking a peek outside to make sure no one was out there and quickly shuffled towards the mirror.

Riza stood on the stand in front of the 3 mirrors and looked at her reflection. She hid a smirk, she made the dress look better then what it was worth. She turned around slowly seeing what her wings looked like. She brought an invisible smile to her face as she looked at herself one last time in the mirror.

"Lieutenant!" A shout called from behind the other side of the curtain. Riza's head immediately turned towards the sound in panic. She immediately calculated the time she had to run to the costume room from where she stood now and make it. That didn't look too well.

So she did what she could…

…she stood in front of the mirror pretending she heard no one…

"Lieuten--" Roy stopped as he saw a woman in front of the mirror. He couldn't see her face because her back faced him and her wings were blocking her face in the mirror. Roy still could not see but he was in fact intrigued by this mysterious woman as she combed her fingers through her hair in front of the mirror whispering words to herself. She seemed to have been too occupied with that to even notice Roy was there.

Roy wanted to say something to the unnamed woman but he was cut off by Havoc's calls. Roy panicked as he heard Havoc coming towards him, for one, if Havoc had seen this woman he would surely be lured by her elegance and two, THIS WOMAN WOULD BE HIS!

Quickly stepping back on the other side of the curtain he led him away and asked him to search for the Lieutenant. Havoc confusingly agreed and shrugged as he walked the halls with his task at hand. As Roy made his way back, the woman was not there anymore and he cursed Havoc for his bad timing.

Somewhere along the halls Havoc sneezed.

Riza slowly waited until Roy had stomped frustratingly out of the auditorium. Roy figured he didn't have enough time to search for the woman what with finding his Lieutenant first.

She thankfully sighed. It seemed that the colonel had not realized it was her as he muttered something about checking back at the office to see if the Lieutenant was back. She then proceeded to get changed as quickly as possible, shuffling once again to the costume room. She placed the dress back into place and looked at it once more before placing the bag over it.

As she left the room straightening out the wrinkles on her uniform she stopped in her tracks.

Come to think of it, WHAT was that repulsive dress doing in the Colonel's closet anyway?

X

O

X

Well, back to our heroes and heroine…

It was only 4 PM and they once again had nothing to do…

Ed was still avoiding any contact with Winry for whatever reasons he had and Winry was still appalled to why he was avoiding her in the first place. She thought back to all the things she done wrong to him that would cause this behavior of his. She frowned, well there were some things. OK, A LOT of things she could think of, but none that was recent. She inaudibly sighed.

Al shook his head silently. Busying himself with thinking of a plan to crack this tension. He wasn't sure why his brother was evading Winry but he did have a good guess. He glanced as his brother again as he saw Ed's face begin to flame up again as he was lost in his own thoughts. Okay he KNEW why Ed was acting this way.

Al shook his head once again; his brother could act like such a little kid sometimes. Al often found himself thinking if he should have been the older brother instead.

"Well, we have a lot of time on our hands for once, so what would you like to do Winry?" Alphonse asked the blond girl. Winry snapped from her thoughts and looked up at Al thoughtfully.

"Well there's really not much that I could think of, but what do you feel like doing?" Winry countered Al's question.

"I would ask Ed, but he's too busy sulking about his actions last night" Alphonse retorted getting a certain alchemist's attention.

"T-THAT'S NOT TRUE!" He said a little too defensively. Winry noticed this.

"Ohhhhh!" She said a bit of laughter in her voice. Ed glared at the two.

"Is THAT what you're so mad about?" Winry tilted her head to the side. Edward answered with a glare, mumbling a "you are sooo not cute!".

"Al…this is a first!" She said amused as she nudged Al's armor. Al agreed nodding.

"Yeah, brother hasn't been this flustered before" He salted the wound.

"OH SHUT UP! THAT'S NOT IT!" the little one crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't worry Ed, I thought it was quite cute how you were worried about me" Winry smiled. THAT was not a lie, but Ed didn't have to know that.

She felt the temperature rise in her cheeks as she thought back to last night...

**Well…since I, the authoress, is stumped on what they should do for the time being...I will just fast forward time…**

**because I can…**

**And besides I bet you guys wanna get on with the show huh?**

"Ahhhh! we're late!!" Alphonse, Winry and Edward rushed out of their room in alacrity. It was now 6:45.

"THIS is your entire fault Edward! If you hadn't locked yourself in your room this wouldn't have happened!" Winry huffed as she dodged bumping into a military official.

"MY fault?" Edward shot her a glare.

"YES YOUR FAULT! All I did was make fun of your sho--"

"SHUT-UP!" Edward stopped her from saying the forbidden.

Alphonse sighed. He wondered if Mr. Hughes plan would actually work…

"You're late…" Roy stated blankly as the 3 ran down the aisle towards the stage.

"Yeah, yeah, shove it!" Edward retorted hastily as he passed by.

"We've already covered most of the script" Hughes sighed as the 3 sat around the group.

"Well if it weren't for EDWARD we would have been here an hour ago!" Winry put her hands up in dismay. Edward stared angrily at her but thankfully kept his mouth shut. He knew better then to get Winry started.

"Well, let's go over this again…" Hughes heaved a sigh and got the groups attention.

X

O

X

**FINALLY! THE TIME HAS COME!**

Edward fixed his sleeve cuffs as he took a peek at the audience that was soon piling in by the number. 'That's a lot of people' he thought frowning. Shouts here and there by the stage crew could be heard from backstage where he stood. He had yet to see Winry.

"ARE YOU NUTS?!"

Edward's head shot up at the cry of his childhood friends'.

Winry's hands shook as she held up her costume for the second act. She took in a deep breathe…she tried to calm down, counting to 3...

1…

2…

3…

"Are you nuts?!" She repeated again. She held up the nightgown she was supposed to wear, which if I may add was a spaghetti strapped violet silk dress that went to just above her knees. Her hands quivered again in the embarrassment of just thinking of wearing it. The female mechanic was glad she was in the changing room so Edward and Alphonse wouldn't have to see it.

"Well if you had come earlier you would've had the choice to choose but since you weren't here we all voted for what you would wear. Although, I would gladly give the other one but it looks like someone already put it away." Gracia said her voice containing a trace of amusement. Winry thought about this…there WERE about twice as many men in the group then women… "Tch…perverts…" Winry muttered. Winry would deal with this later…but for now she should change into her gown for the 1st scene.

Edward fidgeted in place as he watched the hushed voices of the audience tone down. A spotlight appeared onstage and Hughes came out to introduce the play, telling them about how it was a military tradition to have something hosted every Christmas and blah blah blah! In reality, Edward didn't have time to pay attention to what he was saying. He was busied with the fact that he wouldn't pee himself during the play. Yeah yeah, THE Edward Elric having stage fright?! Unbelievable huh? Well, think that to someone who CARES. He knew he didn't.

'Okay Elric! This is nothing new! I mean if YOU can get automail and not cry even when adults would fear the thought of getting it (WHILE CRYING), then surely you can handle a little stage fright right?

RIGHT?!

"Oy! Ed!" A light hand contacted with his shoulder. Edward jumped.

"W-W-Winry! W-what is it?" He turned around slowly while trying to stop his teeth from chattering. Winry quirked a brow skyward. "You okay?" She asked politely, placing her hand on his forehead. "You seem to be cold or something…did you catch something?" She pressed her forehead to his looking at him worriedly. Ed could feel her light breathes on his face. He inwardly gulped

"Winry! It's time to…OH" Sheska froze as she saw the two teens looking…chummy...with each other. Winry lifted her face up from Ed's

"Oh…curtain time already? I should get going then…wish me luck Ed!" She flashed a smile at Ed and ran to her designated area. If Edward hadn't been so busy with calming himself down from the shock he would have seen faint traces of pink tinted on Winry's cheeks before she left.

X

O

X

It was 5 minutes til' show time and the finishing touches were being inspected and added to the stage. Winry looked at her reflection in the mirror and twirled around. She smiled, contented with what she saw.

"Minna-san! Places please!" Gracia called and people started bustling around the place. Mr.Hughes came backstage after he had finished and patted Winry on the shoulder with a thumbs up sign. She smiled gently at him and nodded.

**XOX Act 1 XOX**

The classical music began to sound throughout the theater and the thick velvet curtains began to part. People in elegant dresses and gowns stood before the audience chatting animatedly amongst one another. A giant Christmas tree stood to the far left of the stage with presents and a couch next to it. A fireplace lit brightly a little ways in front of the tree on the same wall. Winry excused herself from her conversation with a guest and walked over to the fireplace. She wore a red silk strapless dress that hugged her curves and a white fur capelet hung around her shoulders. Her hair was in a high bun with wisps of her light blond hair outlining her face. A holly was put into her hair for decoration. Winry also wore white high heels and silk white satin gloves.

Winry smoothed out her dress and sat down quietly without a trace of bad manners in her poise.

"Winry nee-san!" Elysia Hughes ran towards the said person with her cute Christmas dress on and a smile plastered on her features. Winry chuckled at Elysia when she tried to make her way through the crowd towards her.

"What is it Elysia-chan?" Winry tried to calm down the little girl.

"Daddy's here! And he brought with him his new toy inventions!" Elysia clapped her hands in eagerness.

"Uncle Hughes?" Winry asked. She too was eager herself. After all, she loved her uncles toys, they always had a knack for making her smile.

Footsteps clanking could be heard towards the two girls causing them to look up.

"Ah! Alphonse! How are you fairing with the party?" Winry asked politely.

"I-Is that a s-suit of armor up there?" An audience member pointed out astounded at the said armor. The person next to him meekly nodded in response staring at Alphonse in awe.

"Quite well Winry nee-san, and you?" Alphonse bowed before her. Winry stood up and curtsied.

"Not quite pleasant for me actually, you see...these parties bore me" Winry laughed.

"So that's why you're always so quiet at parties" A voice said from behind. The three looked towards the voice.

"Daddy!" Elysia ran up to Maes giving him a hug. He swept her into his arms and twirled her around until she giggled uncontrollably.

"Awww! You're soooo cute Elysia-chan!" Hughes rubbed his cheek against his daughters'. "Noooo daddy! Your beard tickles!" Elysia laughed. The crowd sweat dropped at the doting father.

"Ah! I have gifts to hand out!" Maes said as he set down Elysia and opened the sack he carried over his shoulder earlier. He took a seat beside Winry.

"For you Alphonse" He held up a toy soldier that he pulled from the sack. Alphonse thanked him politely and stared at the well crafted soldier in awe.

**(A/N: by the way…I know it's supposed to be grandfather not uncle but I think uncle would suit Hughes more)**

"And I have a gift for you too Elysia!" Maes took out a fluffy stuffed bear from his sack. The audience wondered if it was a magic trick. After all the bear was twice the size of the bag!

"WOW! Thank-you daddy!" Elysia gave him a big hug.

"No problem sweetie! Well, I must hand out the toys to the other children now so I will see you after the party ends" Hughes stood up and straightened out his overcoat.

"D-Daddy!" Elysia pulled her dad's coat.

"What about Winry nee-san's gift?"

Winry was surprised that Elysia had noticed. Winry looked down to hide her embarrassment and her sadness.

Maes scratched his head… "well….it seems I don't have anything for Winry-chan today" He looked through his things. Winry couldn't help but show her sadness. She fidgeted with her hands. At that moment Alphonse thought that she was a very good actress.

Maes smiled "I'm just kidding!" He pulled out a toy nutcracker from the bag and presented it to her. Winry's eyes automatically lit up with glee. She hugged her uncle and stared at the Ed-like nutcracker for the longest time. She got up abruptly and shouted "I'm going to show this to my mother and father!" and left quickly. The nutcracker then managed to slip from her grasp and fall to the floor. Winry made her way through the crowd once again to try to pick up her beloved toy. Instead of finding the nutcracker she found the nutcracker's right arm and left leg. She stood up and searched high and low for her Nutcracker, which she decided to name Edward, Ed for short.

Just when she was about to give up she saw her nutcracker…but he was being trotted off in the mouth of one of her guest's dog! (aka: Black Hayate)

"H-Hey! Wait doggie!" Winry pushed and shoved through the crowd not caring if her act was unladylike. She had managed to scare Hayate off without him harming the nutcracker any further and cradled the nutcracker into her arms. Winry kneeled on the ground far away from the guests who had not seen a thing and her tears began to roll down one by one. Unknown to the audience and some of the backstage crew, she had pinched herself as hard as she could until she began to cry. As Winry knelt their sobbing, the curtains began to close in on stage and the lights began to dim until the curtains were completely covered.

"Uncle Hughes had found Winry crying over the toy and had told her to leave the nutcracker on top of the fireplace for now and help her parents tend to the last of the guests. Even though she was heartbroken, Winry agreed and wiped her tears away quickly and stood up once again evening out her dress. She handed her uncle the broken nutcracker and resumed her task at hand" Sgt. Fuery, the narrator, had concluded the scene.

* * *

**Here's a sneak preview of THE LATER CHAPTERS!! (possibly 8 or 9)**

"Edward! I-I love you! Please...Please don't go! Stay with me..." Winry blurted out, the tears she had held in for so long now cascading down her face like crystals. Edward stared at Winry in pure utter shock and automatically looked down not knowing what to say or do.

His heart picked up it's pace and thumped loudly in his chest.

"You don't….love me…?" Winry stated. It was a factual statement, not a question.

Edward stared into her sapphire eyes and felt her sadness and pain. He looked down once again…

"…I'm…" He began…

"…sorry…" Was all he said…

* * *

DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUN! Why did Ed say no?? Is this some kind of joke? Find out in the next installments of A Christmas Story! 

What's to come in Chapter 7? The mouse king fight...**PLUS** some more RoyxRiza goodness!


	7. Our special guests arrive!

This story is mostly manga-based! (I think?) Forgot to mention that…well except for Grand haha…okay so maybe it's a bit of both…

WHAAAT??? I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE JANUARY! MAN TIME FLIES!!

**ATTENTION!: I also caught onto a freaking BIG mistake I made throughout this story and I feel like a total IDIOT for not realizing it! I've revised the other chapters but I just wanted to say that in Archer's place will be Kimbley! When I first started out the Chapter 1, I think I was thinking of Kimbley but got his name mixed up with Archer (I didn't know many military characters in FMA back then)…OH! And in Chapter 1 I mentioned Yoki being in it! Uhhh I dunno what happened to him but sorry Yoki man… **

**This Chapter is in honor of those of you who still read my story and for the lovely EdxWin moment in the FMA manga release of chapter 70!! anybody read it yet? -smiles-**

I have no excuses for my completely delayed update…

DISCLAIMER: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Arakawa-sensei!

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 7 **

**Our Special Guests Arrive! **

(This takes place during Act I…)

Roy Mustang was at a lost…

He couldn't help but put his finger on it but…his first lieutenant was acting…

…AWFULLY strange…

Of course if he told others about it, they would tell him that he was being delusional and tell him to concentrate on more important matters like the play for instance. But Roy Mustang knew for a fact that his lieutenant had been…off…from the time he found her after his encounter with that beautiful woman…speaking of that woman, he never did find out who she was…

…anyways…

On another note, Roy declared he would get to the bottom of this! He and Riza had known each other for so long that even when she tried to hide the fact something was bugging her thoughts, he would know.

He ALWAYS knew.

He knew her probably more then she knew him…

And at the moment he knew something was on her mind…

Roy decided not to just blurt it out in front of her; he decided to casually observe her for awhile and strike when the time came. Roy decided to look over his lines, from the corner of his eyes he saw Riza sitting on a box on the opposite side of the room giving Hayate instructions on when to get on stage.

"Is something the matter sir?" Riza spoke, her attention still on her dog. Roy faltered a bit but didn't let her sudden question stir him. He coughed and cleared his throat.

"No lieutenant, but I think I should be asking YOU that question" Riza took her eyes off Hayate and looked at him questioningly. "pardon sir?" she retorted easily. Roy inwardly smirked…so this is how she was going to play...He opened his mouth to speak but another voice beat him to it.

"Lieutenant! It's almost time!" Fuery called from just above them, he was fixing a light at the moment. Riza stood up abruptly completely ignoring the fact that her commanding officer was about to say something.

"Pardon me Colonel, I am needed…" Riza passed him and led Black Hayate along. Roy chuckled. "avoid me will you lieutenant?" he mumbled to himself.

Riza Hawkeye was NOT avoiding him…at least not purposely…

…okay…maybe a little bit…but of course when she came back to the office after her encounter with Mustang she felt the urge to avoid him. Knowing him though, that would totally blow off her cover and make him even MORE suspicious. She sighed, she should have done a better job with dealing with him. It looks like he had noticed a flaw in her attitude the very exact moment she was found.

Well it was too late for her to fix things, the Colonel had sharp insights and if she were to defensively deny his secret interrogations she would seem more suspicious. AND he would see her in costume anyways…so she couldn't hide it for long…

She stopped and rethought that last thought…

In the end she thought it would be best to delay the revealing of her costume as long as possible.

(Now we return to the present)

**XOX Act II XOX **

The large burgundy curtains parted again revealing the next scene…

"I know I should be asleep but…" Winry crept down the grand stairs slowly and quietly not to disturb the other members who were fast asleep in the next room. She couldn't help but wonder if her nutcracker was okay. Her uncle had told her that he had left him on top of the fireplace and she couldn't help but run to his side. As she managed to tiptoe across the marble floor, she searched for her beloved nutcracker. The lights were a little brighter when she reached the fireplace.

"I can't help it…I need to make sure if he's okay…" Winry whispered loud enough for the audience to hear.

WELL…

The audience, well mostly the men and boys, would have heard her if not for what Ms. Winry had on….

Yeah…you remember that silk violet lace nightgown Winry had made a fuss over? Well, apparently she had not fussed over it enough…for she was wearing it right now.

Winry shivered as a cool breeze tickled her bare legs. 'Ahh! The NERVE of them! They couldn't even let me wear a light jacket over it! I mean, who in the world actually SLEEPS wearing this?! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRICKIN WINTER MIND YOU!!'. Some of the male teenagers in the crowd whistled her direction which earned them a death glare.

Alphonse stared at his childhood friend from back stage…if he weren't a suit of armor right now, his jaw would have hung open and his face would have been as red as the philosophers' stone. Luckily Edward was getting changed at the moment so he didn't see anything yet…

"I'm surprised they even let me wear this...what with all the women and children in the audience…" Winry mumbled as she searched the top of the fireplace. She found her nutcracker lying on top of a small pillow in a small woven basket. Winry smiled and thanked her uncle silently. She lifted the nutcracker up and hugged it tight. It seems that her uncle had made a new arm and leg for him out of metal. She was also happy that Riza had dimmed the lights for her so it was hard to make out what she wore. She pretended to dance with Edward, her nutcracker, and twirled as she swept across the room. Winry ignored the chill running through her body as she danced along. As Winry slowed down to a halt she yawned and made her way to the very nice inviting couch. Satisfied that she got her nutcracker back she immersed herself in the fluffy cushions and went into a peaceful slumber.

The spotlight on Winry faded as well as the Christmas lights on the tree and the fireplace leaving the room pitch black. Some of the little kids gasped at how dark it was and sniffled. A spotlight then appeared on the far opposite side of where Winry was laying.

A dark shadow appeared before the spotlight revealing a very…

…handsome mouse king.

Cue the squealing teenage girls and women…

Roy gave a wink at the lovely ladies in the audience and slicked his hair back with his hand. The backstage crew rolled their eyes. Roy wore a distinguishing gold crown on his head and a costume similar to Ed's (the REAL Edward…not the nutcracker…) but it was blue and had a long king-like matching cape attached. His overcoat jacket was blue, had silver outlining it and a white lace cotton ascot. His pants were of a black hue (Riza had threatened to shoot him if he did not wear his costume…although was it just him or was there a tint of pink on her cheeks when she threatened him?)

**Authors Note: okay, waaaay back in the OLD VERSION of chapter 3, I had Ed wear a BLUE overcoat but just ignore that, Ed will be wearing a RED overcoat with gold bordering the front. Oh and it seems I made a spelling mistake on Grand's name so this is how I'll spell it from now on. **

Roy snapped his fingers and only one of his henchmouse came to his aid. It was Denny Brosh. He wore his military attire and thankfully was not forced to wear the mouse ears.

"Pssss Colonel…Where are Grand and Kimbley?" he whispered to the colonel. Roy ignored his question for a few mere seconds looking out at the crowd and whispered back. "They will be joining us shortly…" he said looking TOO smug.

Roy then stated in a loud voice, "At the stroke of midnight we bombard the Christmas decorations and take down whoever intervenes!" Brosh saluted and the lights faded.

X

O

X

Edward walked out of the dressing room fidgeting with his ascot. "This thing is SO UNCOMFORTABLE!" He tugged at the cause if his irritation in hopes of loosening it but failed to do so. Havoc glared at him and placed his pointer finger in front of his mouth signaling him to shut up, which he immediately did. After a few moments passed Edward looked around, 'Where was Winry?'

He spotted his brother behind the curtains watching Roy and Brosh talk about how they were planning to ruin the Christmas decorations and what not.

"Hey Al…" Edward tapped Al's shoulder resulting in an "EEEK!" from the younger Elric. After regaining his composure the kitty-loving lad turned around and sighed at the site of his brother. "Brother! You scared me half to death!" Edward snickered. "So what was distracting you so much that you were caught off guard?"

"Ehh?! N-Nothing! Nothing at all!" Alphonse shook his head rapidly. Edward noticed this.

"OKAY…anyways, have you seen Winry? She still on stage?" Edward asked.

"Winry? Winry who?" Alphonse feigned a laugh.

"…"

"OH! HAHA WINRY! Silly me! Yeah she's still on stage! Uhhh…You should get ready brother! You sure you know how the story goes? Don't want you to freeze up on stage!" Alphonse shooed Edward away from the play beyond the thick velvet curtains.

Edward dug his heels onto the wooden floor and turned to look at Alphonse straight in the face.

"Are you HIDING something from me?!" He growled. Alphonse felt like crawling under something, presumably a rock…

"NO! Of course not! Why would I have anything to hide?" Alphonse said nervously.

" AL! YOU BETTER--"

"Edward! You're on in 5!" Fuery called. Alphonse mentally thanked Fuery for his interference.

"Oh! You should get going Ed!" Alphonse ushered his brother to get ready, pushing him towards the his destination.

"Hey! Wait! Urgh! Damnit this ascot is too tight and frilly! I feel like I'm going to suffocate!" The older Elric yanked at the said item trying to loosen it, obviously forgetting his earlier conversation with Al.

X

O

X

Winry awoke to the sound of loud crashing and screams, she opened her eyes to see her relatives quickly leaving the house and looked around realizing the house was in total chaos. She quickly stood up and made sure to grab her beloved nutcracker but found him nowhere in sight. Searching desperately, she lifted up the cushions ignoring the fact that the Christmas tree and everything else around her had begun to grow enormous (Courtesy of the other state alchemist's alchemy). Her searching skidded to a halt as she found herself shrinking and everything around her looked big and scary. Footsteps sounding to her right made her turn her head and shortly she was face to face with a very handsome man walking up to her with a smug grin on his face.

Winry yelped in surprise as the mouse king came too close for her comfort, she began to run across the stage to the other side, skimpy nightdress and all, ignoring the fact that the light from the flaming Christmas tree was making her body more transparent then ever.

"W-Who are you and why are you doing this?" She scoffed as she gained her confidence back, grabbing an umbrella ready to attack.

Roy smirked and glanced at her curvy features, he looked her in the eye and simply stated "I would like to introduce myself as the Notorious Mouse King and I'm here…" HE looked her over once more, "Why, to have _fun_ of course…" glancing at her again…The inner Roy sighed…'I feel like a pedophile….' He thought to himself, 'Maes owes me for this one…after all it WAS part of his 'plan'…'

Winry shivered and it wasn't because the breezy feeling either…

"Well, I'm sorry mister but there is nothing 'fun' to do here…" She twitched inwardly. Roy suddenly appeared before her in a flash and grabbed her arm making her yelp in surprise. "You will make a very fine _bride_…" He said as he lowered his face towards her, Roy's lips barely grazing her ear. She shivered at the contact. He then quickly added a "Please forgive me Miss Rockbell" while the cast and audience sat/stood there flabbergasted by the sudden change in the story.

A switch clicked in Winry's head and she silently mouthed an "oooh!" and decided to play along just to see where this was going.

"You'll never have me, you monster!" She whacked his arm away and fled to the opposite side of the stage.

"Winry, my dear girl….there is no one to save you…" Roy smirked as he casually made his way towards her. Brosh, who had been hiding in the shadows of the stage finally came out after Roy's signal and closed in on Winry from behind while his boss came from the front. You could tell Brosh was a nervous wreck from the way his knees bent inwards as he shakily stood behind Winry holding his sword in an odd fashion.

"This story has turned a complete 360…" Havoc sighed, the notorious cigarette in hand. Others around him agreed.

"-Sigh- Fine…if you shall not be mine…" Roy pulled on his gloves and fastened them securely; he held his hand above Winry, getting ready to snap his fingers.

'He's not serious is he?' The blue-eyed blond thought to herself.

"Then NO ONE shall have you!" As he snapped his fingers, flames erupted around the girl. The audience looked at him in horror and gasps filled the air. Helpers on stage joined them as well. As the smoke cleared, all eyes darted to Winry…

At least where Winry HAD been standing…

"YOU BASTARD! What the hell were you thinking?!" Ed appeared before the smoke clearing holding Winry in his arms. "E-Ed?!" Winry gasped, it happened so fast she didn't have time to look at her rescuer until now. Her hand was rested on his chest to help keep her balance from the sudden movement. Edward didn't notice Ross trying to tell him to refrain from saying curse words in front of the children.

"OH JUST YOU WAIT YOU JERK WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU I'LL---!!!!" Edward paused as he got a closer look at what his childhood friend was wearing. A pause…The Elric boy's face burst into different hues of red and he immediately dropped her in alarm, an "oof!" escaped Winry's lips. He covered his hands in front of his face and shielded his eyes.

"W-Wha Wha? Y-You IDIOT! What are you WEARING!!?" He turned around abruptly, hoping to burn the image from his eyes. Winry's face flamed up as well.

"It…It's not like I CHOSE to wear this!!" She covered as much of her cleavage as possible with her arms.

Roy grinned at the scene playing before him…'Amusing…' he thought, as well as the other members of his group.

Edward ground his teeth and looked at Al who seemed to be hiding from Edwards gaze. "You KNEW didn't you?!" His eyes seemed to ask Al. Al, finally sensing his brother's evil looks, pulled his head away and disappeared behind the curtain.

'ALPHONSE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER!!' The blonde alchemist declared. Edward, having no other option, took off his overcoat and threw it to Winry. She glanced up at him in question. He in turn, avoided her gaze and mumbled "Put this on for the time being…" a hint of embarrassment in his voice. Winry smiled at him and put her arms through the coat sleeves, fastening the clips on hurriedly.

"Okay you bastard…" Edward said in a low growl facing Roy with a renewed hatred for the man. He transmuted his automail with a swift motion and stood protectively in front of Winry.

Roy looked unfazed and smirked. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the famous, _tiny_ nutcracker…" He crossed his arms smugly. The whole audience could feel Edwards anger rising to max.

Out of sheer blind anger Edward lunged for Roy but was stopped by another large gruff man jumping in, blocking his way, his iron gloves adorned with Latin writing. Edward pulled back and looked at the man.

"Brigadier General Basque Grand!" Edward scoffed. He thought he'd never live to see the day this man would participate in a play. "You're late…" Roy said as he eyed him. "Shut up Mustang, at least we had the decency to show up…" Kimbley appeared from the shadows to Roy's right. Kimbley looked around at the oversized objects towering above him.

"Hmm…so this is what Fullmetal's point of view is like…" He said with an all knowing smirk. Winry and Al's face paled at the statement and they quickly looked at Edward. Seeing how his body seemed to shake in outrage they together counted…

"3…"

"…2"

"1…"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SUPER MIDGET THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO STEP ON HIM?!" Edward burst out loud ready to attack Kimbley. Winry felt it was her duty to hold the screaming boy back, so she did. Kimbley, ignoring the fuss made by Fullmetal merely scratched his chin.

"I simply recall you telling me you weren't coming..." Roy smirked looking at the man.

"Let's just say I couldn't refuse your _offer_…" Kimbley smiled.

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(FLASHBACK)

_"Mustang…" Kimbley growled under his breath as the Flame Alchemist made his way to him. _

_"Hey! What a coincidence seeing YOU here!" __Roy__ laughed wholeheartedly as he sat down next to him on the stool. _

_"I'd like shochu on the rocks!" He slapped his gloved hand on the glossy counter ordering from the bartender. _

_"Cut the crap! What were you doing STALKING me?" Kimbley stated in a low voice looking straight ahead as if __Roy__ weren't even there. A breeze flew pass the two men as the shops door opened with a jingling sound. Roy took the moment to eye the lovely women who had just entered giggling as they checked him out, their hips swaying from side to side as they made their way pass him. _

_"I'd like to give you another chance to change your mind about your participation status in the play…" He whispered just as lowly, ignoring Kimbley's 'stalker' comment as he thanked the bartender for his drink and held the glass firmly in his hand. _

_"Just hear me out one more time and whether you decide to go with my proposition or not, I'll leave you alone…" __Roy__ cut off Kimbley before he had the chance to decline again. _

_"…" _

_Roy__ glanced at the Crimson Alchemist from the corner of his eye and waited for his response. The Crimson Alchemist gave a low sigh and gulped his beer down. "Fine…you got 3 minutes" He gave in. _

_Roy__ tapped his fingertips on the counter as he placed his chin in his other palm. _

_"You see…it's not everyday you get to test your strengths with Fullmetal, at least not legally…" _

_"…Do you think of me as stupid?" Kimbley finally glanced at __Roy__ bringing his glass down on the counter. _

_'Actually yes I do…' __Roy__ thought to himself. "No...and I predicted just by this information you still wouldn't agree…but I got grand to agree and I'll get you too…" __Roy__ said as he sipped his drink with ease. _

_"…You can make as many explosions as you want…" __Roy__ tried again. Kimbley's eyes grew a bit then at the statement. HE casually got up from his stool. _

_"…As much as that sounds soooo fun I think I'll pass…" Kimbley said dismissing the conversation and paying the bartender and left the bar. _

_Roy finishing his drink, he paid the bartender and migrated over to the table with the lovely ladies… _

_"Checkmate Kimbley…" He whispered before he took his seat next to the three women. _

(END FLASHBACK)

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"Well…let's get this started…" Kimbley flexed his hands.

"I challenged him first…" Grand stepped in the way as he faced Ed once more. Winry had a bad feeling about this and usually her 'bad feelings' were right…

Silence settled across the theater…

"Well…I really think it doesn't matter who attacks first…" Kimbley swiftly ran towards Ed as his hands emanated a bright crimson light. Edward, breaking out of his reverie lifted Winry up in one swoop and jumped back as he dodged Kimbley's attack. Edward set her down gently when they were far enough and transmuted a spear from the brick fireplace.

"Winry! I'll hold them off! Go hide!" Edward said as he got in a fighting stance. Winry nodded and ran away searching for a hiding place.

**A/N: Did I mention that the stage and the auditorium itself is HUGE? **

"Um…do they have permission to tear up the stage like that?" Brosh, who had been standing very FAR away from the group ever since the two 'special' guests appeared, questioned no one in particular. "Brosh!" Roy had called his name wondering where his other lackey was.

"Y-Yes sir?" Denny answered as he made his way to Roy, avoiding the flying bits of debris.

"What are you doing here? Go get the nutcracker!" Roy pointed to Edward dramatically, who was currently transmuting a cannonball for his cannon. Brosh looked at Roy as if he was crazy. "Y-You're not being serious are you b-boss?" He looked at Edward who was now putting the cannonball in the cannon.

"Very serious…now! Let us go!" Roy grabbed Denny by the ear and pulled him towards battle with the poor man crying the whole way.

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"If we don't stop this the whole theater will be in ruins and the audience could get hurt!" Gracia said as she held Elysia in her arms. Alphonse shook his head in disbelief at his older brother's wild antics.

"Aw man! we're going to have to clean that up huh?" Breda complained to Havoc as he looked at the mess the alchemists were leaving behind as they chased Edward. Fuery sighed in agreement.

"Umm…shouldn't you 3 be on stage helping Edward?" Sheska pointed out as she pushed up her glasses.

"Are you kidding me? I don't want to die yet…" The nicotine addict spoke up calmly. Sheska gave him a questioning look but shrugged, turning her eyes to the Play. This scene should've ended by now…if it dragged on any further someone would have to end it.

Riza, who was sitting on the cargo box petting Hayate suddenly got up and told Hayate to stay as she excused herself from the group.

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"ED! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Winry grabbed Ed by his braided hair before he lit the fuse to the cannon. Edward yelped in pain and freed himself from Winry's clutches.

"What was THAT for?!" Edward rubbed his poor head and turned around to see Winry mad beyond imagination. "What was that for?! For almost blowing the whole place you idiot! What were you thinking lighting a CANNON?!" Winry placed her hands on her hips in full lecture mode.

"Look you…I'm trying to---" Edward was cut off as Grand brought his knuckles together forming and alchemic light to surround his hands and went after the two. Edward threw Winry over his shoulder in a flash and a brought his hands to the ground to perform his stone spikes.

"EEP! Put me down you idiot!" Winry beat her fists down on Ed's back, not realizing that she was making it more difficult for him to maneuver pass the flying objects and fists. "And get your hand off my butt you pervert!" Winry tried to give him a death glare but from her position she couldn't.

"I can't help it! Where else am I going to hold you to keep you from falling?" Edward shot back, his face growing hotter by the realization that his hand was in FACT on Winry's butt.

"Ughh! If only there was a way I can get them to stop for a moment! Even with my stone walls, it won't hold them back long enough!" Edward said as he bit his lip. "And what the hell is that bastard Colonel thinking, teaming up with them!" Edward looked back to see the 3 men who were chasing after him, Brosh following reluctantly and slowly behind. Edward was now running through the aisles of the seats and to his dismay they followed him. 'Well…at least they're not stupid enough to attack with people so close…" Edward mumbled.

"Ed! Get back on the stage! We don't have any other choice! People might get hurt!" Winry exclaimed as she saw the men gaining up to them. "And plus, I have a plan! Just put me down first!" She said in a confident tone. Edward hesitated but decided not to go against his childhood friends wishes.

"Alright!" He said as he jumped back on stage and ran to the other end of it, giving enough space between the men and them for Winry to get ready to whatever she was planning. He set Winry down next to the enormous grown Christmas tree and she thanked him. Winry began to unfasten the clips on the coat Ed had given to her one by one.

"Winry…what are you---" Edward looked at her puzzled but knew exactly what she was planning when she began to unhook the last of the clips.

"NO! You idiot!" Edward placed his hands on hers, stopping her from unclipping it. He blushed in embarrassment and looked away, his face once again turning every hue of red possible. "Do we HAVE any other choice?!" Winry growled at him. She wanted all the fighting to stop.

"W-Well there must be another way! I'm not going to let you EXPOSE yourself!" Edward shot back. Winry turned around glaring at him.

"It's okay! It's not like I'm naked underneath!" Winry frowned.

"Oh…riiiight like wearing THAT makes a huge difference!" Edward looked at her face, trying to avoid looking any lower than that. "And would you PLEASE fasten the clips on again!" He added.

"Ed! I don't want to argue with you!" Winry stomped her foot down for emphasis on how mad she was. Edward could not reply as the men were now a few feet away from them. He quickly hugged Winry, causing her to let out a squeak. His back facing the men as they neared, ready to take on the blow of hits. He shut his eyes ready for the impact.

Four gunshots rang out; one barely grazing Edward's cheeks as they just about missed the men and hit the wall on the other side of the theater. The four men stopped, their alchemy dying down in an instant. Winry, who was still in Ed's arms looked behind her and found that Edward was gaping at the person who had shot the rounds. She in turn, wanted to find out what it was exactly who it was he was shocked to see and turned her head around fully.

There…clad in a slim amethyst strapless dress….

…was Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, a slit in the dress revealed a gun holster strapped on her right thigh… Riza's hair was down unlike her usual clipped bun style with the ends of it in big curls. The frown on her face told them she was not pleased one bit.

"It's time the 'sugar plum fairy' puts things in her own hands, right boys?" She finally spoke up in a low voice, her gun still pointing at the 3 older alchemists.

* * *

**AWWWW I AM SUCH A MEANIE ENDING IT HERE! HAHAHA AHHH OH WELLZ! REVIEWS PLEASE?! MAJOR ROYXRIZA NEXT CHAPTER! hmmm I just noticed the date today haha anyways! Here's a sneak peak of what's to come!**

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 8 preview **

"….I'm so sorry for causing you trouble Edward the nutcracker and Miss Rockbell…please forgive my men…" The Mouse King exclaimed gesturing to Kimbley and Grand who were exiting the auditorium and then t brosh who was stanng a little ways to his left. He patted Edward on the shoulder. The two teens looked at him skeptically.

"It seems I will allow you to decline my offer of becoming my wife Miss Winry..." He told Winry, holding one of her hands in a dramatic way with fake tears added in the process. She simply nodded along with him obviously speechless.

"For I, the Mouse King…." Roy exclaimed, letting go of Winry's hand and turned to face the audience.

"…Shall take the lovely Sugar Plum Fairy to be my bride!" He stated closing his eyes in pure bliss at the thought. Everyone's eyes widened in shock and their mouths gaped open, excluding Riza, who just looked at the Colonel in shock.


	8. A visit from the sugar plum fairy

**An update at last! **

**Hugs and Kisses to Maiwyn Hearts, ukyouchrono, Shoushin, unheardgoodconscience, Danelle, Dailenna, full-metal-flamed-heart, Sajin-Zero, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, AnimeAddict333, OTP, Havoc's Honey, peachii, MoonStarDutchess, and oneangeredwarf!!!**

**I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**I'm really sorry for my lateness guys…truly sorry…well at least now I can tell you that if my updates keep lagging like this (which I will try my best next chapter to NOT do!) then it'll be on time just b4 christmas lol…**

**On another note: I think I spelled Kimbley and Elysia's name wrong…I was looking and there were a lot of different ways to spell it…so I'll just keep their names as how it is now. **

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I have to admit I was snickering myself while I was writing it!**

**A Christmas Story: Chapter 8**

**A Visit from the Sugar Plum Fairy**

"Should the Sugar Plum fairy be carrying a gun around?" A girl in the audience asked her boyfriend a little skeptical.

"WHO CARES! IT'S HOT!" The young man looked at the goddess before him in awe. The girl beside him gasped and slapped him, walking out of the theater shouting "You lecherous pig!"

The man touched his swollen cheek and it finally dawned on him what just happened.

"--?! I didn't mean that! Sophia! You know I would never--" The man ran after the fuming girl.

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"No way…I don't believe it…I CAN'T believe it!"

"I'm BLIND!"

"Am I dreaming?"

"Am I dead??"

Havoc, Fuery, Falman and Breda stared at the woman onstage that was dubbed as Lieutenant Hawkeye. The men rubbed their eyes just in case it was all an illusion.

Hughes rolled his eyes at the men. Of course Riza looked stunning, but not as stunning as HIS wife. "Oh my! I'm glad Riza fits the dress!" Gracia clapped her hands in glee. Maria and Sheska nodded while admiring their higher up.

"M-Ms. Riza?!" Winry managed to choke out in her state of shock. Riza gave Winry a slight acknowledging nod and her eyes went back to the 3 troublemakers.

"It's time for the next act" She stated coolly and all the three men could do was stare at her.

"Hawkeye…?" Kimbley said, also unsure of the woman before him. Riza'a eyes glared at him as if trying to break him from his trance. She looked over at Roy, who had been the quietest out of the group.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye? I didn't know you were actually going to participate!" Edward finally spoke up, breaking the tension in the air. Riza lowered her gun and threw stray wisps of her blonde hair behind her shoulder (I'd like to point out that at this gesture, all the men and boys in the room sighed in contentment.)

"I'm just here to let you know that we can not afford any more time for you idiots to have your little fun time" She said while directing another glare at the other alchemists.

"…the…woman from…" Roy started to mumble, finally breaking from his reverie. Riza's stance faltered a bit at hearing his words.

"huh?" Winry turned towards the colonel.

Roy couldn't say more as he opted to stare at Riza in awe, making the latter VERY uncomfortable. Riza watched as the colonel's eyes roamed over her figure and she suddenly felt something pricking up her spine.

"Colonel…?" She questioned, her voice still masked with calmness as she tried to break the Colonel's daze.

No reply, but his eyes were still glued to her.

Riza's hand gripped her gun tightly and she could feel the colors rushing to her face.

Without warning, she shot 2 rounds at the colonel (making sure to miss of course) and the man finally stopped his 'sexual harassment' as Riza referred it to.

Roy blinked, his mind reeling back to reality.

He coughed awkwardly as he realized all stares were on him. He then looked back at Riza, whom, he had observed, was trying to keep on a straight poker face.

"Umm Ed…?" Winry finally spoke up. The said blonde answered with a "yeah?"

"You can let go of me now…" She suggested calmly. With that, the young alchemist quickly unwound his arms around her and Winry giggled to herself as she saw Edward turn the other way, mumbling profanities to himself.

"Well…_Lieutenant_ Hawkeye…" Kimbley said, as he walked up to the woman. Riza jumped down from the large couch and landed a few feet in front of him, her gun at her side.

Kimbley began to circle the first lieutenant and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Who would've known I'd see **this…**just for attending this stupid play…" He continued as he stopped in front of her.

Riza was of course unfazed by how close the man was.

As Kimbley began to reach out for a wisp of her hair, the next thing he knew her gun was pointed to his temple in mere seconds.

"…I suggest that you do not precede any further then that Major Kimbley sir…" She spoke, her voice even yet her eyes portraying hatred and anger. Kimbley found himself smirking and he drew back with a shrug, walking back to Roy and Grand.

"Now…" Riza went over to Edward and Winry, her eyes still on the men.

"..Won't the mouse king and his men surrender to us peacefully?" She asked, her gun still pointed at them.

'This is peaceful?!' Edward thought to himself, suddenly grateful that Hawkeye was on his side.

The men stood in silence and soon remembered that they were in a play.

"…The Sugar Plum Fairy's power is too great for us to handle…we must retreat for the time being…" Roy found himself saying as he began to back away, ushering his two men to follow.

"What…? You have got to be joking…I don't take orders from YOU…" Kimbley stated, an unpleased frown gracing his features. Grand remained quiet but silently agreed with the Crimson Alchemist.

Roy nearly twitched as the audience watched their little 'feud'.

"He's right for once…we shouldn't do anything to ruin the Fuhrer's name" Grand reluctantly stated. Roy looked at the older man, '…for once?!'

Kimbley looked as if he was going to put on a scowl but nodded instead. The three men proceeded to exit the stage without another word spoken. Riza watched the men go and then stared at the two confused teens.

"Now…Edward the Nutcracker…" She spoke slowly as she put her gun away.

"I, the Sugar Plum Fairy…shall reward you for driving the evil mouse king away by inviting you and Miss Winry to my kingdom in the land of sweets" Riza bowed.

Edward wanted to point out that it was her who drove the mouse king away…

The two decided to keep quiet and followed her off the stage while still dealing with the fact that this woman was ACTUALLY the same Lt. Hawkeye…

The curtains closed again and a brief intermission was called while the crew set up the stage.

**XOX Backstage XOX**

Riza sighed as soon as she was hidden from public view and went over to sit next to Hayate near the crates. Winry went to go change her costume while Ed chose to pay his little brother a visit…

"Alphonse…" Edward said sternly as he found his brother playing with Elysia. The younger Elric froze and turned around slowly.

"H-Hey bro!" Alphonse said as he scratched his head sheepishly.

"Don't 'hey' me! Why didn't you tell me about Winry?!" Edward took a seat beside the armored boy.

"What _about_ Winry???" Alphonse asked, pretending to be oblivious.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Ed said as he made eye contact with his brother.

Elysia decided to take the opportunity to go play with her dad as she noticed the scary look in the older Elric's eyes.

"You mean…how sexy she looks?" Alphonse said jokingly.

"Yes!..WAIT! I mean NO!..AL!!" Edward's face flushed a nice, pretty shade of red.

"Aww...don't be shy big bro…" Alphonse chided with his finger.

"WHO'S BEING SHY?!" The older Elric yelled out startling the crew members.

"What's up you two?" Winry went to check up on the sudden outburst. Edward froze on the spot.

"Wi-Wi-Wi…"

"Hey Winry! Good job out there!" Alphonse cut in before his brother could finish stuttering his phrase.

"Thanks Al!" Winry smiled and sat down next to the younger Elric.

"What was all the shouting about?" The young mechanic asked looking at Edward.

"Oh…well Ed asked me if…"

"ALPHONSE!!!" Edward shouted again before his brother could further tease him.

"huh? What's the matter Ed? Your face is red…" Winry asked as she looked worriedly at the Elric.

"I-It's nothing!" The Fullmetal Alchemist avoided her intense gaze on him. Alphonse began to snicker to Ed's dismay.

"Um I'm gonna go practice my lines…" Edward said as he trudged away from the two.

"Uhh okay…?" Winry looked at his retreating back.

"Stupid brother…we don't HAVE lines to practice…" Alphonse mumbled under his breathe.

"Oh! Well I should go change into my gown! I'll see you around Al! Wish me luck!" Winry waved off to Al as she headed towards the costume room. Alphonse waved back and watched the blonde mechanic as she disappeared around the corner.

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"No way I can't believe it!..."

"You go talk to her…"

"No, YOU!"

"I don't' wanna die early!"

"Neither do I!"

"…." Riza Hawkeye sat on a crate quietly as she tried to ignore the group of men behind the small curtain trying to spy on her. She continued to roll her eyes.

"Is there something you wish to ask me…Second Lt. Havoc?" Riza's gaze pierced the man standing behind the thick black curtain. Havoc froze and threw curses at his comrades when they pushed him out in front of the gun toting lieutenant.

"Urrr…" Havoc paused as he stood before the breathtaking woman. He turned around to take the chance to curse at Breda for pushing him forward. Riza removed her eyes from Black Hayate and they settled on the man's face. Havoc tried to avoid her gaze by looking at the nice cobweb that was forming in the corner of the room.

Riza sighed. 'Men…' She thought to herself while inwardly rolling her hazel eyes.

"If you have nothing to say Lt. Havoc, I'll be on my way then…." Riza stood up and brushed the dirt off her dress making her way to the changing room with Hayate trotting beside her.

She heard Havoc yelling at the others for almost getting himself killed as she made her way towards her destination and she had to smile at herself in amusement.

But…

…there was one thing that puzzled her…

Her commanding officer hadn't approached her yet…

and THAT was something considering she was talking about the notorious ladies man Roy Mustang. Riza shrugged it off but made a mental note to look into it later…

…she could never be **too** careful…

"Riza! I'm so glad the dress fits you! You look lovely!" Gracia exclaimed as the 1st Lieutenant entered the room. Riza gave a small shy smile and thanked the woman.

"But I'd like to point out that this is the LAST time you see me wearing something like this" Riza added as she fixed her hair in the mirror. The other women laughed.

"But really, you look gorgeous! You should've seen all the men ogling you!" Sheska commented.

"Believe me…I've seen it…" Riza almost rolled her eyes as Gracia helped fix her make up

"Oh but I was really scared that you would actually shoot Kimbley out there"

Ross feigned a nervous laugh.

'I will if that bastard tries it again' Riza thought quietly to herself.

"Have you seen the Colonel anywhere?" Riza asked as she finished applying her make-up. The other women shook their heads in a no gesture. Riza frowned…

"Ms. Riza! The crew manager says that you're on in five!" Sheska said as she closed the door lightly having just talked to the man a few minutes ago. Riza nodded and stood up, looking into the mirror one last time before bidding the ladies farewell.

**XOX Act III XOX**

The burgundy curtains once again parted and light music began to play. The set this time seemed to be in an enchanted forest. A small tea party had been set up in the middle of the stage and the Sugar Plum Fairy's castle was drawn in on the far right side of the wall. There were trees and bushes that adorned colorful berries and fruits. Different varieties of flowers were spread all over the floor of the stage making the floor as vibrant as ever.

Riza and Edward occupied the two chairs and sat quietly across from each other. Edward silently watched Black Hayate chase the butterflies that were fluttering around the stage.

'Man they really outdid their selves this time…' Edward thought uncomfortably.

"Umm so where is Winry…?" Edward spoke up as he set his teacup down gently and he stared at the lieutenant. Riza sipped her tea lightly, her eyes still closed.

"I told her to go change…she will be joining us shortly" Riza replied calmly as she daintily wiped her mouth with her handkerchief. She set her cup down with a soft clink and her gaze fell upon Edward.

"So tell me Edward…." Riza spoke up quietly, her gaze piercing Edwards.

Edward stared at her nervously, anticipating for her to finish.

"…you love Winry-chan don't you?" Riza questioned innocently.

If Edward had been sipping his tea at the moment, he would have spat it out on the prancing Black Hayate's face.

Luckily he wasn't…

"W-WHAT?!" He shouted as he stood up from his seat abruptly, his palms placed on the table. Riza blinked at him, amused. She closed her eyes again and picked up her teacup, disregarding the sudden outburst.

"I-I don't love that machine j--"

"Please calm down Mr_. Nutcracker_ sir" Riza almost glared at him and Edward sat back down in his chair quietly. He suddenly realized that Riza was referring to the nutcracker's love for Clara.

He mumbled a quick sorry as he fiddled with his hands quietly.

"Ms. Riza, I bring to you Miss Winry" A voice spoke from the far left side of the stage.

Edward's head unconsciously turned to see Sheska standing before them, wearing a light blue spaghetti strap dress that flared out just above her knees. Sheska signaled for Winry to make her entrance.

Ed's mouth parted in awe as he stared at his childhood friend.

Winry stepped onto the stage nervously, a blush creeping across her face. She wore a light blue halter top style dress that complimented her every curve and reached almost passed her white high heels. She had on a small crown with sapphire gems adorning it and a matching necklace.

Winry bit her lip awkwardly as she slowly crossed the stage, plopping down in the seat next to Edward.

She tried her best to avoid Ed's stare as she looked at the flowers with more fascination then necessary.

"Now…Winry…Edward…" Riza spoke up after observing the two for a moment.

"Y-Yes!" They both shouted in unison, blushing together when they made eye contact with each other.

Alphonse, who was watching from backstage, rolled his eyes.

"As you should know….this is a thank-you on my behalf for defeating the evil perverse mouse king"

Somewhere in the auditorium, a sneeze was heard.

"So now…" Riza clapped her hands.

"Let the celebration begin!" She shouted, signaling for her dancers to come out.

SILENCE…

"I said…." She tried again.

"Let the celebration begin!" she nearly shouted.

Edward and Winry sweat dropped when they heard some noises from back stage and someone shouting "get out there!"

After a few minutes of hearing crashing noises and thumps, a group of people were kicked onto the stage.

A group of people consisting of Havoc, Fuery, Falman, Brosh and Breda that is.

Ross had personally told her commanding officer to not participate in the play in fear that he would permanently traumatize the audience forever. In which he questioned 'why' and she made up something along the lines of 'Your Armstrong bloodline is too much for the civilians to stand' ('especially in a that…' she had added quietly as she watched the five men).

The five men stood up soundlessly, clad in poofy pink tutus and wigs.

Edward gawked at them before covering his mouth quickly, trying his hardest to bite down his laughter. Winry did the same.

Riza smirked quietly as she saw the men trying to hide behind one another while covering their legs with their hands.

As for the audience…

…they didn't try to hold in their laughter one bit…

The five men stood there, their faces turning as red as Edward's overcoat.

"This is all _**your**_ fault!" Havoc screamed at Breda through the laughter as he adjusted his wig.

"_**My**_ fault?!" Breda snarled back as he shivered slightly, feeling a breeze against his legs.

"If you hadn't gotten Hawkeye upset at us, this never would have happened!" He hissed as he too, tried to cover his legs.

Not able to withstand it any longer, Edward burst out laughing, pounding his fist on the table repeatedly as he doubled over, clutching his stomach.

Winry, looking at Edward, also burst out into fits of giggles, holding her hand up to the men while trying her best to mumble apologies regardless of her hysterical state.

As if to add oil to the fire, the men also heard the backstage crew also bursting into fits of laughter and the five paled, hoping to god that the ground would just swallow them up right then.

Riza, who was the only one perfectly composed, lifted up her tea cup and drank from it slowly as she waited for the laughter to die down…

Approximately 5 minutes later, the audience stopped laughing (with the exception of a few giggles and snickers here and there) and Riza decided to resume her role.

She looked at Edward and Winry who had stopped laughing just minutes before and were now continuing to avoid each other.

"I present to you…Mr. Nutcracker…my best fairy dancers…" She said, almost too calmly.

Edward stifled a snicker and he spoke up quietly.

"…Your best…?"

Riza nodded.

"The most prettiest and elegant fairy dancers in this whole realm" She answered calmly.

With this, Edward burst out laughing again and Winry patted the Elric's back, trying to remind him that there was a play going on.

Edward sat up and proceeded to use the inhaling and exhaling technique.

"How very kind of you…I'd like to see for myself how _**great**_ these dancers are" He smirked to himself. Havoc and Breda glared at the midget.

Riza nodded and turned to the group of men.

"You heard our guest…_**ladies**_…please show us" The gun totting lieutenant asked, a little _**too**_ smugly. The five men looked around, thinking that she was talking to some other unlucky bunch that would have to dance in public.

They all jumped when they heard Riza cough a signal.

"Huh? Does she really expect us to dance??" Falman asked quietly while trying to shrink away from the audience as much as possible.

"Expects it or not…like hell am I going to be caught dead dancing…" Havoc muttered as he reached into his pocket for his cigarette box only to remember that he was currently wearing a tutu. He grumbled something incoherent in response.

"You got that right…" Breda said as he crossed his arms across his chest defiantly.

Brosh, who had been quietly standing behind the group of men…errr…women(?) silently sobbed in place mumbling something about why he had to be punished as well.

"I dunno…maybe we should do it…" Fuery said automatically as he glanced at Riza who was staring directly at the group.

Havoc and Breda paused to look at the small man.

"You know…." The smoker said as he stared at Fuery a closely.

"…the tutu suits you nicely…" he let out a laugh as he realized how feminine Kain actually looked.

Breda looked from the laughing Havoc to the puzzled Fuery.

"…hey…he's right...you _**do**_ look like a woman…" he examined closely.

Fuery blinked, his face becoming more and more red by the second.

"S-Shut-up!" The glasses man shouted as Falman and Brosh came over to see if it was really true.

"Awww….she even shouts like a girl…" Havoc teased, grinning.

Kain was about to retort something witty back but he turned his head just in time to see Riza staring back at the group grimly, her lips set in a thin firm line. Edward and Winry were currently sweating as they felt the dangerous aura leaking out of the woman.

Fuery gulped nervously…

"T-The audience is watching…" he reminded the men and they all stopped laughing at Fuery to his relief.

Havoc frowned, remembering why they were currently dressed as fairies and on the stage in the first place.

"Well…" he muttered as he turned on his heel and began to exit the stage.

"…the audience can also watch as I lea--"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence because just then, he heard 3 rounds of shots being fired, one of the bullets barely grazing his front bangs.

He stared in terror as he saw some stray pieces of his golden hair fall silently to the ground.

All men hesitantly turned their heads towards Riza who was now standing up with her gun pointed directly at him (Edward was silently hiding behind Winry, clutching the back of her dress in fear of the woman).

"I said…" Riza started, her eyes locked on Havocs'.

"…_**dance**_!" she nearly shouted, causing the men to jump out of their skins.

The men wordlessly began to do awkward twirls and jumps, prancing around the field of flowers like little girls while sweat literally poured from their heads. Black Hayate cocked his head to the side and ran over to the group thinking that they were playing a game.

Riza smiled smugly and sat back down, hiding her gun in the holster on her right thigh calmly.

She continued to watch as Breda ran around the stage frantically with Hayate following, thinking it was a game of tag.

"Well…" Winry giggled and pushed Ed away from her to his dismay.

"…I can see why they are your best dancers…" Winry held in her laughter.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it" Riza smiled politely.

The five men all at the same time thought that this woman was very frightening and they made mental notes not to cross her path _**EVER**_ again.

Suddenly, a spotlight appeared on the left end of the stage, followed by a sharp evil laughter.

There, on the middle of the spotlight, stood the supposedly defeated and dead mouse king. Riza's calm face faltered for a bit and she wondered nervously what Roy was going to do next. Roy's laughter died down and he turned to the shrieking girls and woman in the audience, striking a handsome pose.

An exasperated group sigh came from back stage.

"It's the ugly mouse king!" A little kid in the audience gasped, pointing at Roy. Roy's once handsome smile turned grim as the corners of his mouth began to twitch at the word 'ugly'.

Oh, how he _**loved**_ kids!

He made sure to ignore the kid's 'rude' comment and turned to the still prancing men.

"Brosh?!" he exclaimed in horror, seeing his minion in a pink tutu.

"What on earth are you _**doing**_…?" he questioned almost sternly and skeptically.

Brosh stopped mid-dance and turned around to see his 'king' staring at him questioningly.

"I'm dead for just a few hours and here you are, converting yourself into a fairy?!" The Flame alchemist said, trying his best to seem angry.

Brosh blushed a deep crimson as the audience's gaze shifted to him and he bowed his head down slowly, his fake long blonde locks outlining his face.

"I'm sorry b-boss…" He found himself sputtering.

""The Sugar Plum fairy can be very…" he groped for the right words.

"….demanding…" he finished hesitantly. Roy almost burst out laughing and he looked over to Riza, who was unaware of the slight pink color on her cheeks.

"Well…that's true…" He said, scratching his chin thoughtfully and grinning at Riza who averted her gaze from his. Winry watched amusingly from Riza to Roy, a sly grin spread across her face. Edward looked at her.

"What're you smirking about?" he asked curiously. Winry rolled her eyes, a sigh escaping from her lips.

"..nothing!" she answered and continued to watch silently.

Riza stood up calmly, setting her tea cup down gently with a clink.

"You're not supposed to _**be**_ here…" She said calmly, her eyes sending him a secret message.

'_You're character is supposed to __**stay**__ dead sir…' _

Roy smirked and ran his hands through his hair for fan service.

"Yes!" Winry stood up, slapping her palms on the glass table.

"Edward defeated you!" she added as she pointed her finger towards Ed to emphasize her point. The blonde looked at Winry with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"Ha!" Roy laughed dramatically.

"…the power of love can never be defeated!" he said triumphantly.

Edward, as well as everyone in the auditorium gawked at him.

Quickly, Edward backed out of his chair and threw him a disgusted look while covering himself.

"Eww! I'm SO not into _**that!!!**_" he said as he stared at Roy in horror.

Roy looked at him puzzled and then sighed as he realized where Fullmetal was getting at.

"I'm not talking about _**you**_ midget" he said as he rolled his eyes. Edward relaxed, giving off a sigh of relief. Another thought then crossed his mind. He quickly grabbed Winry, causing her to squeal in surprise and held her protectively in her arms.

"You can't have her either bastard" he said as he eyed the man repulsively, his arms wrapped around her waist protectively.

Alphonse gaped from behind the curtain and almost thought he was dreaming, for his brother would never think to do _**that**_ in public! And with Winry no less!

The mouse king stared at him amused and started to walk towards the nutcracker.

"Do not worry, I am not here to fight" he said as he saw Edward start to back away, his hold on Winry tightening. Winry, who had been blushing quietly into his chest, turned around to look over her shoulder seeing Roy pause a few feet in front of them.

"I am merely here to apologize to you, Edward the nutcracker and Miss Winry Rockbell" he kneeled down on the ground, bowing his head.

He cringed in anger as Edward said "Now THIS I can get used to" a wry smirk on his face.

"Please forgive me and my men…" Roy said as he gestured to Grand and Kimbley who were leaving the auditorium (they had been called upon for whatever reasons) and then to Brosh who was silently watching from afar. He held Winry's hand in his and was about to place a chaste kiss on it until Edward grabbed her by the wrist and away from the man's 'evil clutches'.

"I'll decide who gets to do that" he growled venomously as he glared daggers at Roy.

Winry didn't know whether to roll her eyes or sigh dreamily in response.

He stood up silently and fixed his coat.

"It seems I will allow you decline my offer of becoming my wife Miss Rockbell" He said as he gave her a smile. He then turned to Riza, who had been watching silently and bowed down, to her surprise.

"For I, the once notorious mouse king, shall take the lovely Sugar Plum Fairy as my bride!" he announced, standing back up to smile at the audience while his inner mind was already celebrating in pure bliss at the thought of seeing Riza in a beautifully made, and very short, wedding dress.

With the words leaving his mouth, the audience stared at him with a mix of surprise, shock and confusion while the crew and cast members stared at him in horror and surprise, their eyes literally bulging out from their sockets.

Riza, who was always the calm, stoic type, raised her brows high in surprise and she sort of gaped at him before catching herself and returning back to her blank expression.

She glanced at Roy who looked as if he was already celebrating and rolled her eyes, sighing.

"I decline" she stated bluntly as she casually strolled over to the table to pour herself more tea. She needed to ask Gracia where she had bought it because it was really delicious!

In mere seconds, Roy's dreams and hopes came crashing down, exploding right before his eyes. To make matters worse, after it had crashed, it got run over by a ten wheeler truck and he realized that the driver was Fullmetal…

Ed snickered as he watched the mixed expressions on Roy's face.

"What are YOU snickering about? You never even had the guts to ask a girl out!" Winry retorted as she looked at him smugly, crossing her arms. Edward's grin was quickly replaced by an unhappy look.

Havoc and the others laughed at Winry's statement.

Edward turned around and glared at the group of men.

"Well at least I'm not wearing a tutu!" he retorted back.

The men glared at him in return.

"Well, Winry…for your information I _**have**_ asked a girl out before…" he crossed his arms over his chest and stuck his nose up in the air. '…sort of…' he mentally added.

Winry looked at him surprised.

"Who??" she asked incredulously. For some strange reason Winry wanted to know who the girl was, and after she knew, she wanted to hunt her down and pounce on her, tie her up and then through her off a cliff….

"…lets just say you've met her before…" Edward said as he rolled his eyes. His friend could be so naïve sometimes…

Winry's eyes narrowed at him but decided to leave it there.

Roy, who had been sulking in the corner until now had regained his posture and walked over to Riza while Edward and Winry were talking about something he really didn't care to hear.

"Why won't you accept my love??" Roy asked as he stood beside Riza as she calmly drank her tea.

Instead of getting flushed or angry like Roy had anticipated, she merely wiped her mouth with a napkin and said…

"It'll never work out…"

"Is it because of our backgrounds?! Is that it?!" he exclaimed as he took her hand in his. Riza glared at him silently but she decided to play along….she would beat the colonel at his own game.

"Since when did this turn into Romeo and Juliet???" Alphonse asked Hughes as the man was clutching his stomach, laughing as he held on to the velvet curtain for support.

"No…it's not" she said, not minding that he was still holding her hand.

"Then what is it my love?" Roy said as he stared into her eyes. Riza cringed at the sound of him calling her 'my love'.

"I'm…" she paused…

"…seeing someone else…"

Okay...so she couldn't think of anything else to say...

"What? Who is it?!" He said as he gripped her hands tighter. He knew he got her cornered when her face twisted into an unpleased look.

"It's…" she paused again as she began to sweat. Riza looked away from Roy's gaze and saw something from the corner of her eye.

"Havoc!" she yelled as she saw the man trying to make his way off the stage, only to pause as she realized what she had said.

"HAVOC?!" Roy almost screamed as he looked from his one subordinate to the other.

Riza freed her hand from Roy's grasp and used it to massage her temples…she needed a break…_**NOW!**_

"Yes…I'm in love with Havoc…" She said sarcastically but Roy had failed to see it.

Havoc, who had heard Riza's declaration, fell to the ground and doubled over. Riza calmly walked passed the shocked Roy and the twitching comrade on the ground, exiting the stage while telling Sheska to close the curtains.

As the curtains began to close, the audience blinked in question and Al's voice suddenly filled the room.

"With the celebrations ending and the mouse king not evil and marrying the Sugar Plum…"

A gunshot rang out and Alphonse could be heard squeaking.

"I-I mean…w-with the evil mouse king now under the Sugar Plum Fairy's command, she had ordered him to take her guests to her castle and stay the night, for it was too late to take Winry home at the moment…"

The velvet curtains once again closed so the crew could get ready for the next scene.

* * *

WHAT. THE. BLEEP. 

What a lame ending…I know…I'm sorry…I'll fix it when I have time so look for the fully revised version tomorrow…(not much will be changed though...just spelling/grammer mistakes...maybe more???)

Things to look for in the next chapter…

-More serious Riza/Roy moments

-The revelation of Huges evil plan…

-Edward's love confession to Winry?!

**TWO MORE CHAPTERS TO GO FOLKS!**


	9. THE DREADED AUTHOR'S NOTE

_**Sorry to disappoint…but this is NOT a chapter update.**_

_**Yeah. Boo. Hiss. Whatever.**_

_**I've been so content with the Ed/Winry in the manga that I haven't had much inspiration to write lately.**_

_**Anyways.**_

_**I'm not here to declare that I am "giving up on" or "deleting" this story.**_

_**I just wanted to know if anyone out there is still interested in it. If not, then unfortunately maybe I WILL discontinue it. But I WILL finish it even if there is only one loyal reader out there.**_

_**I mean, this story is like three chapters from finished…**_

_**Just let me know.**_

_**You probably won't see an update til July though.**_

_**And THAT is a definite promise.**_

**_Annnd I'll probably end up revamping this whole story too. My writing was so horrible back then..._**

edit AUGUST 6--

Okay. Well...obviously I didnt keep my promise...I'm terribly sorry guys. I've been busy with college applications and stuff. But I've decided to redo the whole story. So please be patient some more! And this time I will DEFINITELY keep my promise. I can't force you guys to believe in me but I'll promise anyways! You'll see a change in this story before the end of September!

edit SEPTEMBER 23--

Alrighty so here's the dealio! I'm not gunna make my September deadline but I'll have it out the first week of October. I decided not to redo the chapters...maybe when I have time in the future or so. But that's a slim possibility. I'm going to warn you that my writing style has changed (hopefully for the better) and that I seriously don't remember what I had planned for Hughes' "evil plot" but I'll find a way around it!

See you in October!

edit FEBRUARY 28--

I'll just...not say anything until I'm positive about an update. Im sorry guys. I really hate stringing you along...

You'll here from me when the next chapter is out. The only thing I can tell you and not break my promise is that it'd be out this year =P


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